Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH – Get Rating) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $47.83, but opened at $46.44. Sonic Automotive shares last traded at $47.50, with a volume of 1,786 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SAH. Bank of America lowered Sonic Automotive from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Sonic Automotive from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $51.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Friday, July 15th. StockNews.com lowered Sonic Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 15th. Finally, Benchmark cut their price objective on Sonic Automotive to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.00.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 1.93. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 14th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Sonic Automotive's payout ratio is currently 11.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Heath Byrd sold 93,714 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.27, for a total transaction of $3,867,576.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 146,600 shares in the company, valued at $6,050,182. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 28,196 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.67, for a total transaction of $1,203,123.32. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 190,168 shares in the company, valued at $8,114,468.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Heath Byrd sold 93,714 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.27, for a total value of $3,867,576.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 146,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,050,182. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 176,580 shares of company stock worth $8,110,352. 36.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 78.0% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 7,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 89.4% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,884 shares of the company's stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 7,499 shares during the last quarter. ETF Managers Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $646,000. Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter worth $1,617,000. Finally, PDT Partners LLC boosted its position in Sonic Automotive by 36.2% in the fourth quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 50,943 shares of the company's stock worth $2,519,000 after purchasing an additional 13,543 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.10% of the company's stock.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

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Sonic Automotive, Inc operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. It operates in two segments, Franchised Dealerships and EchoPark. 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.

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