Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Price Target Lowered to $90.00 at Needham & Company LLC

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its target price reduced by analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price indicates a potential upside of 37.40% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on SAH. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.00.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

SAH opened at $65.50 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.03. Sonic Automotive has a 1 year low of $52.00 and a 1 year high of $89.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 0.95.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.41). Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.40% and a net margin of 1.07%.The company had revenue of $3.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. Sonic Automotive’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sonic Automotive will post 6.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Sonic Automotive

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 38.2% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 14,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $814,000 after purchasing an additional 3,952 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 23.0% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 25,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 4,745 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the first quarter worth $1,940,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the first quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the first quarter worth $777,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.