Intech Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 418.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,692 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,512 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $1,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in Sonic Automotive by 85.3% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 8,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 3,820 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $730,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 630,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,898,000 after purchasing an additional 70,540 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 270.0% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 24,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 17,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the second quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

SAH stock opened at $69.42 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.82 and a 12-month high of $70.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 1.61.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.