New York State Common Retirement Fund Grows Stock Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 54.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,849 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.13% of Sonic Automotive worth $2,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 25,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,643,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Sonic Automotive by 4.6% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 11,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 6.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 56,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,570,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Sonic Automotive stock opened at $68.08 on Friday. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.82 and a 12-month high of $76.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 1.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $68.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.64.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 1.52% and a return on equity of 19.96%. On average, research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is 22.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SAH shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $83.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $74.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $79.20.

About Sonic Automotive

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.