Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Reduces Stock Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,526 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,941 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned about 0.17% of Sonic Automotive worth $3,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAH. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Sonic Automotive by 524.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 100,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,480,000 after acquiring an additional 84,489 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 679.8% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 95,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,175,000 after purchasing an additional 82,823 shares during the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,645,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 831.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 35,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,959,000 after buying an additional 32,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 124.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 55,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,239,000 after buying an additional 30,731 shares during the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SAH. Seaport Res Ptn raised Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Sonic Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.40.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SAH opened at $67.12 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.82 and a 12 month high of $70.88.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.17). Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.27% and a net margin of 1.41%. 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 firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. Sonic Automotive’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.35%.

About Sonic Automotive

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.