Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) released its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.09, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $3.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.56 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 27.46% and a net margin of 1.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of SAH opened at $57.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 1.09. Sonic Automotive has a 52-week low of $41.19 and a 52-week high of $64.68.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonic Automotive

In other Sonic Automotive news, CFO Heath Byrd sold 19,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,189,620.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 173,618 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,417,080. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Heath Byrd sold 19,827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $1,189,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 173,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,417,080. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Jeff Dyke sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.76, for a total value of $851,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 161,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,173,664.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 163,514 shares of company stock worth $9,625,454. Corporate insiders own 40.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on SAH shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Sonic Automotive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.00.

Sonic Automotive Company 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.