Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Shares Bought by State Street Corp

State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 689,243 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,456 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned 2.02% of Sonic Automotive worth $40,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 524.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 100,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,480,000 after acquiring an additional 84,489 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 679.8% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 95,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,175,000 after purchasing an additional 82,823 shares in the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the third quarter worth about $3,645,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 831.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 35,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,959,000 after purchasing an additional 32,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 124.7% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 55,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,239,000 after buying an additional 30,731 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Stock Down 0.1 %

SAH stock opened at $63.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 1.65. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.17. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.82 and a fifty-two week high of $70.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.17). Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 21.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. Sonic Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.6 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This is a boost from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SAH has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens initiated coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Sonic Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $40.00 to $58.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.40.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

Sonic Automotive, Inc operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. It operates in three segments, Franchised Dealerships, EchoPark, and Powersports. The Franchised Dealerships segment is involved in the sale of new and used cars and light trucks, and replacement parts; provision of vehicle maintenance, manufacturer warranty repair, and paint and collision repair services; and arrangement of extended warranties, service contracts, financing, insurance, and other aftermarket products for its guests.