Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Purchases 978 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,361 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 978 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned 0.16% of Sonic Automotive worth $3,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Point72 DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 2,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Sonic Automotive by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 10.8% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 4,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 4.6% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 11,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 100.3% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of SAH stock opened at $63.36 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $64.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 1.11. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $47.82 and a 52-week high of $70.88. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 1.67.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.17). Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.27% and a net margin of 1.41%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.6 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. This is an increase from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on SAH. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, September 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.40.

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.