Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.09, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.56 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 1.21%. Sonic Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of Sonic Automotive stock opened at $57.52 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 1.61. Sonic Automotive has a one year low of $41.19 and a one year high of $64.68.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SAH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Sonic Automotive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $63.00 in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sonic Automotive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sonic Automotive news, CEO David Bruton Smith sold 67,703 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.43, for a total value of $3,955,886.29. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 583,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,067,845.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Heath Byrd sold 2,480 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $148,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 193,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,606,700. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David Bruton Smith sold 67,703 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.43, for a total value of $3,955,886.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 583,054 shares in the company, valued at $34,067,845.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 163,514 shares of company stock valued at $9,625,454 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 40.95% 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.