BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $11.21 Million Stock Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 70.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 181,189 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 75,125 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $11,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAH. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 37.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $795,000 after acquiring an additional 3,777 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 13.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 23,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 5.8% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 124.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 355,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,239,000 after acquiring an additional 197,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 15.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 38,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,204,000 after acquiring an additional 5,286 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Friday, March 27th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Sonic Automotive in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sonic Automotive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.00.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE SAH opened at $82.48 on Monday. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.11 and a 12 month high of $89.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $73.83 and a 200-day moving average of $66.57. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.27, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.88.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.22. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 22.45%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is 48.41%.

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.