Barclays PLC Has $1.43 Million Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 346.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,413 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,940 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.07% of Sonic Automotive worth $1,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 100.3% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $82,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd raised its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 6.9% in the second quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 2,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the second quarter worth approximately $228,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 10.8% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SAH opened at $63.59 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.46. 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 market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.6 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. This is a positive change from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SAH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Sonic Automotive from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stephens began coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $64.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.40.

Sonic Automotive 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.