JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Price Target to $74.00

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its price target reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Sonic Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $58.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.20.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 0.1 %

SAH stock opened at $68.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.48. The company has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 1.67. Sonic Automotive has a twelve month low of $47.82 and a twelve month high of $70.88.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.17). Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.27% and a net margin of 1.41%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. Sonic Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.35 dividend. This is a boost from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 24.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SAH. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 456,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,870,000 after acquiring an additional 16,556 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 679.8% during the second 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 during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 26.8% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 88,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,838,000 after purchasing an additional 18,800 shares in the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the third quarter worth about $3,645,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 56,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,570,000 after buying an additional 978 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

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.