Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Raised to “Overweight” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $63.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $58.00.

Separately, Bank of America decreased their target price on Sonic Automotive from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $58.00.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SAH opened at $59.80 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $56.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.78. The firm has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 1.61. Sonic Automotive has a 52 week low of $41.19 and a 52 week high of $64.68. 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 Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.09. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 1.21%. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sonic Automotive will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 24.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Heath Byrd sold 19,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,189,620.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 173,618 shares in the company, valued at $10,417,080. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 16,734 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,004,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 817,753 shares in the company, valued at $49,065,180. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Heath Byrd sold 19,827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,189,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 173,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,417,080. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 95,811 shares of company stock worth $5,669,568. 40.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive in the second quarter valued at about $41,000. AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive in the second quarter valued at about $82,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 35,366.7% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 2,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.