Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $453,000 Position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SAH. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in Sonic Automotive by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 15,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $965,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 12.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In related news, President Jeff Dyke sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.97, for a total transaction of $4,148,500.00. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 111,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,261,277.34. The trade was a 30.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 100,000 shares of company stock worth $8,408,160 over the last 90 days. 43.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on SAH. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.62.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:SAH opened at $87.88 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $81.04 and its 200 day moving average is $69.78. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.11 and a 12-month high of $89.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.99, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93.

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

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This is an increase from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.23%.

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.