Bank of America Trims Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Target Price to $67.00

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its target price lowered by Bank of America from $68.00 to $67.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and raised their price target for the company from $53.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $56.75.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

SAH opened at $56.41 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 1.62. Sonic Automotive has a fifty-two week low of $41.19 and a fifty-two week high of $64.68. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $56.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 27.46%. Sonic Automotive’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sonic Automotive will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.76, for a total value of $851,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 161,622 shares in the company, valued at $9,173,664.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, President Jeff Dyke sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.76, for a total transaction of $851,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 161,622 shares in the company, valued at $9,173,664.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David Bruton Smith sold 67,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.43, for a total transaction of $3,955,886.29. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 583,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,067,845.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 167,396 shares of company stock worth $9,863,864 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 40.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $795,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,473,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Sonic Automotive by 125.4% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 43,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,427,000 after buying an additional 24,021 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in Sonic Automotive by 2,718.9% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 29,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,427,000 after buying an additional 28,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,724,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

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.