Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Has $3.24 Million Stock Position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) by 124.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,383 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 30,731 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Sonic Automotive worth $3,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SAH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the first quarter valued at approximately $515,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 109.1% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 17,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,003,000 after purchasing an additional 9,193 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in Sonic Automotive by 85.3% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 8,298 shares of the company's stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 3,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 630,450 shares of the company's stock worth $35,898,000 after buying an additional 70,540 shares in the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SAH shares. Stephens started coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.40.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SAH traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $57.28. The stock had a trading volume of 162,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 196,617. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 1.61. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.82 and a twelve month high of $64.68.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.17). Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 21.27%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. This is a positive change from Sonic Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.91%.

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.