Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Posted by George Bondi on Sep 18th, 2026

Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH – Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $98.8750.

Several research firms recently commented on SAH. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered Sonic Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, August 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $90.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Sonic Automotive

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive during the second quarter valued at approximately $88,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter worth approximately $79,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at $208,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 2,981.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 3,935 shares during the period. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter worth $264,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

NYSE SAH opened at $65.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.86. Sonic Automotive has a 52 week low of $54.11 and a 52 week high of $113.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.07.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.37% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

About Sonic Automotive

(Get Free Report)

Sonic Automotive, Inc is an 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 replacement parts, vehicle maintenance and repair services, financing, insurance products and other related offerings.

Sonic also operates EchoPark Automotive, a retail platform focused primarily on high-quality pre-owned vehicles. Through its dealership and EchoPark operations, the company provides vehicle purchasing, trade-in, financing and service options to consumers.

Founded in 1997, Sonic Automotive serves customers through locations across the United States.