Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH Shares Sold by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 80.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,090 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,818 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAH. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in Sonic Automotive by 13.8% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 14,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Sonic Automotive by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 49,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,945,000 after acquiring an additional 3,024 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Sonic Automotive by 578.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 9,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 7,676 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 98.5% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $982,000 after purchasing an additional 6,094 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 18,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Tuesday. Benchmark boosted their price target on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research downgraded Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $68.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $80.25.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:SAH opened at $64.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $64.25 and a 200-day moving average of $73.76. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.00 and a 1 year high of $89.62.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.41). Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 0.86%.The company had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is 41.08%.

Sonic Automotive Profile

Sonic Automotive, Inc is a publicly traded automotive retailer that operates a network of franchised new-car dealerships and used-vehicle dealerships across the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company offers a range of services that include vehicle sales, leasing, finance and insurance products, service and parts, and collision repair. Sonic Automotive’s dealerships represent numerous major automotive brands, and the company also markets a broad selection of pre-owned vehicles under its own banner.

In addition to its core dealership operations, Sonic Automotive has developed digital retail capabilities that allow customers to research, shop and complete transactions online.