JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Price Target to $67.00

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its target price trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $70.00 to $67.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

SAH has been the topic of several other reports. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Sonic Automotive from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup raised Sonic Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $82.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $68.00 target price on Sonic Automotive in a report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Sonic Automotive in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sonic Automotive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.88.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 2.4%

Sonic Automotive stock opened at $62.81 on Friday. Sonic Automotive has a 12 month low of $52.00 and a 12 month high of $89.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.02.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.41). Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.65% and a net margin of 0.86%.The firm had revenue of $3.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. Sonic Automotive’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,202,000. Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the second quarter worth $793,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the third quarter worth $2,006,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 30.3% during the second quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 94,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,551,000 after buying an additional 21,960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 45.1% in the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 13,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 4,327 shares during the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sonic Automotive Company 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.