Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 500 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 6.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SAH. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Sonic Automotive in the third quarter worth approximately $1,244,000. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 8.7% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Sonic Automotive in the second quarter worth approximately $1,351,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 6.9% in the second quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 2,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in Sonic Automotive in the second quarter worth approximately $645,000. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens assumed coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded Sonic Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $58.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Sonic Automotive from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Sonic Automotive from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.40.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of SAH opened at $64.67 on Thursday. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.82 and a 12 month high of $65.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $57.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 1.61.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.17). Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 21.27%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.62 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, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This is a positive change from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.35%.

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.