New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH – Get Rating) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,398 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,158 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.10% of Sonic Automotive worth $1,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. UBS Group AG raised its position in Sonic Automotive by 353.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 2,315 shares during the period. Pacific Global Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth $204,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Sonic Automotive by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Finally, Delphia USA Inc. raised its position in Sonic Automotive by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Delphia USA Inc. now owns 5,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.50% of the company’s stock.
Insider Activity
In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 86,596 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.80, for a total transaction of $4,399,076.80. Following the sale, the president now owns 814,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,361,309.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Heath Byrd sold 11,336 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.02, for a total transaction of $612,370.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 168,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,108,960.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Jeff Dyke sold 86,596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.80, for a total transaction of $4,399,076.80. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 814,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,361,309.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 101,432 shares of company stock valued at $5,200,693. Corporate insiders own 36.07% of the company’s stock.
Sonic Automotive Price Performance
SAH stock opened at $53.44 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $54.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.99. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.17 and a 12-month high of $62.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.81 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.
Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 15th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 0.62% and a return on equity of 35.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current year.
Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 14th. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is 66.67%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
SAH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Sonic Automotive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonic Automotive currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.67.
Sonic Automotive Company Profile
Sonic Automotive, Inc operates as a automotive retailer. Its services include sales of both new and used cars and light trucks, sales of replacement parts and performance of vehicle maintenance, warranty, paint and repair services and arrangement of extended service contracts, financing, insurance, vehicle protection products and other aftermarket products for automotive customers.
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