Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Given New $74.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its price target lowered by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $75.00 to $74.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential upside of 7.86% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Sonic Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $40.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $74.00 price target on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Two investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.20.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Sonic Automotive stock traded up $0.28 on Friday, hitting $68.61. The company had a trading volume of 6,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,921. Sonic Automotive has a twelve month low of $47.82 and a twelve month high of $70.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $65.57 and a 200-day moving average of $60.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 1.67.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 21.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. Research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Sonic Automotive by 1.8% in the 4th 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 68.6% in the third 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. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 6.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 346.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,427,000 after buying an additional 18,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new position in Sonic Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth $596,000. 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.