Needham & Company LLC Boosts Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Price Target to $100.00

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $74.00 to $100.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target points to a potential upside of 35.96% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on SAH. Stephens upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seaport Res Ptn raised Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Sonic Automotive from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.00.

Sonic Automotive Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE SAH opened at $73.55 on Thursday. Sonic Automotive has a 1 year low of $47.82 and a 1 year high of $76.78. The firm has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 1.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.05. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.27% and a net margin of 1.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,557,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,658,000 after buying an additional 20,058 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 291,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,443,000 after purchasing an additional 18,232 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 132,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,369,000 after purchasing an additional 14,600 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 111.2% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 87,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,518,000 after purchasing an additional 45,857 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 80,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,129,000 after purchasing an additional 27,726 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Company 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.