Aigen Investment Management LP Buys 611 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,946 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $185,000. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $251,000. Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 48.3% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 26,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after buying an additional 8,633 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 125.4% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 43,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,427,000 after purchasing an additional 24,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mach 1 Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $415,000. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SAH has been the subject of several research reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Sonic Automotive from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Sonic Automotive from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David Bruton Smith sold 41,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.27, for a total transaction of $2,475,707.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 583,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,557,610.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 113,355 shares of company stock valued at $6,670,004 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 40.95% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of SAH stock opened at $55.73 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 1.75. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.63 and a 12-month high of $64.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $54.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.53. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 1.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 24.59%.

Sonic Automotive Profile

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.