Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Position Reduced by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,868 shares of the company’s stock after selling 397 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $1,322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SAH. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 3.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 456,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,870,000 after purchasing an additional 16,556 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 82,823 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 88,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,838,000 after acquiring an additional 18,800 shares in the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,645,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 56,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,570,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on SAH shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.20.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 1.3 %

Sonic Automotive stock opened at $69.16 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $47.82 and a one year high of $70.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 1.67.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.27% and a net margin of 1.41%. Sonic Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.61 earnings per share for the current year.

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.