SG Americas Securities LLC Reduces Position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 27.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,056 shares of the company’s stock after selling 777 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 263.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at $165,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at $208,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE:SAH opened at $48.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $52.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 1.82. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.02 and a fifty-two week high of $60.24.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.17). Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 28.06% and a net margin of 1.24%. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.61 EPS. Sonic Automotive’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on SAH. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet raised shares of Sonic Automotive from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.40.

About Sonic Automotive

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.