Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average of $55.63

Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $55.63 and traded as high as $62.84. Sonic Automotive shares last traded at $62.28, with a volume of 127,179 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SAH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $63.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.00.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04. The stock has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 1.61.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.56 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 25.31% and a net margin of 1.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 24.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 16,734 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the president now owns 817,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,065,180. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, President Jeff Dyke sold 16,734 shares of the 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 $1,004,040.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 817,753 shares in the company, valued at $49,065,180. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Heath Byrd sold 19,827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 173,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,417,080. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,041 shares of company stock worth $2,342,460 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 40.95% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAH. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in Sonic Automotive by 12.6% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 630,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,898,000 after purchasing an additional 70,540 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 3.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 456,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,870,000 after acquiring an additional 16,556 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 524.4% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 100,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,480,000 after acquiring an additional 84,489 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 679.8% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 95,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,175,000 after acquiring an additional 82,823 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 26.8% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 88,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,838,000 after acquiring an additional 18,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.