Sonic Automotive (SAH) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. The EchoPark segment sells used cars and light trucks; and arranges finance and insurance product sales for its guests in pre-owned vehicle specialty retail locations. The Powersports Segment sells new and used powersports vehicles, such as motorcycles, and personal watercraft and all-terrain vehicles; and offers finance and insurance services. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $61.03 to $62.15
• 50-Day Range: $53.62 to $66.50
• 52-Week Range: $47.82 to $67.15
• Volume: 102,746 shs
• Average Volume: 206,108 shs
• Market Capitalization: $2.11 billion
• P/E Ratio: 10.98
• Dividend Yield: 1.95%
• Price Target: $67.40
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Sonic Automotive Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Sonic Automotive scored higher than 84% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 78th out of 215 stocks in the retail/wholesale sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.3 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

Sonic Automotive has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.60, and is based on 3 buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Sonic Automotive has been the subject of 5 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 7.54%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Sonic Automotive are expected to grow by 7.54% in the coming year, from $5.70 to $6.13 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Sonic Automotive is 10.98, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 124.79.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Sonic Automotive is 10.98, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Retail/Wholesale sector average P/E ratio of about 97.01.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Sonic Automotive has a P/B Ratio of 2.08. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

11.11% of the float of Sonic Automotive has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Sonic Automotive has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 8.3.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Sonic Automotive has recently decreased by 5.30%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Moderate

Dividend Yield

Sonic Automotive pays a meaningful dividend of 1.92%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Sonic Automotive does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Sonic Automotive is 21.35%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Sonic Automotive will have a dividend payout ratio of 19.58% next year. This indicates that Sonic Automotive will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 0.2 / 5
• Environmental Score: -3.41

Percentage of Shares Shorted

11.11% of the float of Sonic Automotive has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Sonic Automotive has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 8.3.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Sonic Automotive has recently decreased by 5.30%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.8 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.11

News Sentiment

Sonic Automotive has a news sentiment score of 1.11. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.62 average news sentiment score of Retail/Wholesale companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 2 news articles for Sonic Automotive this week, compared to 3 articles on an average week.

MarketBeat Follows

1 people have added Sonic Automotive to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Sonic Automotive insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

40.95% of the stock of Sonic Automotive is held by insiders. A high percentage of insider ownership can be a sign of company health.

Percentage Held by Institutions

46.92% of the stock of Sonic Automotive is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

SAH Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have SAH shares performed this year?

Sonic Automotive's stock was trading at $56.21 at the beginning of the year. Since then, SAH shares have increased by 9.7% and is now trading at $61.68.
View the best growth stocks for 2024 here.

How were Sonic Automotive's earnings last quarter?

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October, 24th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.17. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Does Sonic Automotive have any subsidiaries?

The following companies are subsidiaries of Sonic Automotive: AM GA LLC, AM Realty GA LLC, AnTrev LLC, Arngar Inc., Autobahn Inc., Avalon Ford Inc., Car Cash of North Carolina Inc., and more.

Who are Sonic Automotive's major shareholders?

Sonic Automotive's top institutional investors include Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC (2.41%), State Street Corp (2.02%), Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. (1.12%) and Geode Capital Management LLC (0.98%). Insiders that own company stock include Paul P Rusnak, Jeff Dyke, David Bruton Smith and Heath Byrd.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Sonic Automotive?

Shares of SAH stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

What other stocks do shareholders of Sonic Automotive own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Sonic Automotive investors own include American Water Works (AWK), Waste Connections (WCN), Humana (HUM), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), The RMR Group (RMR), AUO (AUOTY) and iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC).

Company Calendar

• Ex-Dividend for 10/15 Dividend: 9/13/2024
• Dividend Payable: 10/15/2024
• Last Earnings: 10/24/2024
• Today: 11/21/2024
• Ex-Dividend for 1/15 Dividend: 12/13/2024
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2024
• Dividend Payable: 1/15/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 2/12/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Retail/Wholesale
• Industry: Automotive dealers & gasoline service stations
• Sub-Industry: Automotive Retail
• Current Symbol: NYSE:SAH
• CUSIP: 83545G10
• CIK: 1043509
• Web: www.sonicautomotive.com
• Phone: (704) 566-2400
• Fax: 302-655-5049
• Employees: 10,500
• Year Founded: 1997

Price Target and Rating

• Average Stock Price Target: $67.40
• High Stock Price Target: $75.00
• Low Stock Price Target: $58.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +9.3%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.60
• Research Coverage: 5 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): $5.62
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 10.98
• Forward P/E Ratio: 10.82
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $178.20 million
• Net Margins: 1.41%
• Pretax Margin: 1.64%
• Return on Equity: 21.27%
• Return on Assets: 3.58%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 1.87
• Current Ratio: 1.11
• Quick Ratio: 0.35

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $13.91 billion
• Price / Sales: 0.15
• Cash Flow: $10.63 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 5.80
• Book Value: $26.26 per share
• Price / Book: 2.35

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 34,190,000
• Free Float: 19,611,000
• Market Cap: $2.11 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.61