FY2024 EPS Forecast for Sonic Automotive Reduced by Analyst

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) – Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn cut their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Sonic Automotive in a research note issued on Sunday, October 20th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst G. Chin now anticipates that the company will earn $5.70 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $5.97. The consensus estimate for Sonic Automotive’s current full-year earnings is $5.67 per share.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on SAH. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Stephens initiated coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $64.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.33.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Sonic Automotive stock opened at $54.26 on Wednesday. Sonic Automotive has a 12-month low of $42.57 and a 12-month high of $64.68. The company has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $57.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.57.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.09. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.35% and a return on equity of 25.31%. The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. Sonic Automotive’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SAH. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 630,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,898,000 after buying an additional 70,540 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 524.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 100,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,480,000 after buying an additional 84,489 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in Sonic Automotive by 109.1% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 17,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after purchasing an additional 9,193 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 456,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,870,000 after acquiring an additional 16,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 3.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $730,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 22.18%.

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.