Bank of America Upgrades Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) to Buy

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) was upgraded by Bank of America from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a $68.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $55.00. Bank of America‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 9.15% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.00.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

SAH opened at $62.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. The company has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 1.82. Sonic Automotive has a 52-week low of $39.02 and a 52-week high of $64.68. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.06.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 27.69%. The company’s revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonic Automotive

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SAH. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,473,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 1,841.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 301,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,401,000 after purchasing an additional 285,999 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 705.8% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 67,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,204,000 after purchasing an additional 58,761 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $1,770,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $1,724,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.