Swiss National Bank Has $1.93 Million Stake in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,500 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.09% of Sonic Automotive worth $1,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 346.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 18,940 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 54.4% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 45,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,851,000 after buying an additional 15,849 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 68.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 53,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,113,000 after buying an additional 21,650 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on SAH shares. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $83.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Sonic Automotive from $100.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.80.

Sonic Automotive Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of SAH opened at $54.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.89 and a beta of 1.70. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.82 and a 52 week high of $76.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.13 and a 200-day moving average of $63.89.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.05. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 19.96% and a net margin of 1.52%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is 22.65%.

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.