New York State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,237 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,005 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.09% of Sonic Automotive worth $1,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 263.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $135,000. Finally, Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at about $165,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on SAH. TheStreet upgraded Sonic Automotive from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.40.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SAH opened at $49.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 1.82. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.02 and a 12-month high of $60.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 28.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.61 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is 24.14%.

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.