New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $1.40 Million Stock Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 39.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,967 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,075 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.07% of Sonic Automotive worth $1,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 1,841.9% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 301,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,401,000 after purchasing an additional 285,999 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 705.8% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 67,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,204,000 after acquiring an additional 58,761 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $1,770,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 2,718.9% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 29,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,427,000 after acquiring an additional 28,820 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 4.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 381,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,207,000 after acquiring an additional 16,117 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of SAH opened at $58.47 on Friday. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $39.02 and a one year high of $64.68. The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 1.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $53.65 and a 200-day moving average of $52.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.06. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 1.21%. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Sonic Automotive from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David Bruton Smith sold 67,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.43, for a total value of $3,955,886.29. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 583,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,067,845.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 71,585 shares of company stock worth $4,194,296 over the last three months. 40.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sonic Automotive 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.