JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Price Target to $53.00

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its price objective lifted by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $48.00 to $53.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective indicates a potential downside of 7.42% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. TheStreet upgraded Sonic Automotive from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America upgraded Sonic Automotive from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.60.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of SAH stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $57.25. 38,526 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 227,824. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $52.93 and its 200 day moving average is $52.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 1.75. Sonic Automotive has a 1 year low of $39.02 and a 1 year high of $64.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.06. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 1.21%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Sonic Automotive will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David Bruton Smith sold 3,861 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total value of $237,181.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 583,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,817,007.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 40.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SAH. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the third quarter valued at about $135,000. Olympiad Research LP purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $214,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $443,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 140.4% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 17,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,000 after buying an additional 10,450 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 4.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 381,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,207,000 after acquiring an additional 16,117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

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.