Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH – Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $61.26, but opened at $63.76. Sonic Automotive shares last traded at $62.98, with a volume of 4,290 shares traded.
Sonic Automotive News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Sonic Automotive this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Sonic Automotive declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, payable January 15, 2027, to shareholders of record on December 15. The annualized dividend is $1.64 per share, representing an approximately 2.6% yield and signaling continued shareholder returns. Dividend announcement
- Neutral Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue was $3.99 billion, up just 0.4% year over year but slightly below the $4.03 billion analyst consensus. Investors may view the limited growth as evidence of a challenging automotive retail environment. Third-quarter earnings results
- Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings came in at $1.30 per share, missing the $1.66 consensus estimate by $0.36 and declining from $1.41 in the prior-year quarter. The larger-than-expected earnings miss is the main reason the stock has decreased and prompted reports highlighting the post-earnings decline. Q3 earnings miss
- Negative Sentiment: Profitability remains relatively thin, with a reported 1.37% net margin. Combined with revenue growth of less than 1% and the earnings decline, this may reinforce concerns about margin pressure and near-term operating performance. Shares fall after Q3 miss
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
SAH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Seaport Research Partners cut Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research cut Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $90.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Sonic Automotive from $72.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.12.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on SAH
Sonic Automotive Price Performance
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $68.13 and its 200 day moving average is $73.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.92.
Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.36). Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 1.37%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. Sonic Automotive’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.71 earnings per share for the current year.
Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is 26.16%.
Insider Activity at Sonic Automotive
In other news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak bought 12,555 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.90 per share, with a total value of $752,044.50. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 5,176,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $310,088,882.40. This trade represents a 0.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders bought a total of 76,776 shares of company stock worth $4,584,694 in the last 90 days. 43.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,313,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,088,000 after purchasing an additional 48,599 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 64.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 131,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,003,000 after purchasing an additional 51,420 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive in the first quarter valued at $8,450,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Sonic Automotive by 11.5% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 88,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,043,000 after purchasing an additional 9,100 shares during the period. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the second quarter valued at about $4,799,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.
Sonic Automotive Company Profile
Sonic Automotive, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company operates franchised dealerships that sell new and pre-owned vehicles from a range of automobile manufacturers, along with related automotive products and services.
Its dealership operations provide vehicle financing and insurance products, maintenance and repair services, replacement parts, and collision-repair services. Sonic Automotive also operates EchoPark Automotive, a used-vehicle business focused on offering pre-owned vehicles and related finance and service products through dedicated retail locations.
Founded in 1997 by automotive entrepreneur O.
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