JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) Price Target to $80.00

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $74.00 to $80.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.29% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Stephens raised their price target on Sonic Automotive from $83.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Sonic Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Sonic Automotive from $74.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.20.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Sonic Automotive stock opened at $72.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $68.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.18. The company has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. Sonic Automotive has a 1 year low of $47.82 and a 1 year high of $76.78.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.05. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 20.52% and a net margin of 1.52%. As a group, analysts expect that Sonic Automotive will post 6.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SAH. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 515.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 100.3% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 1,429.7% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 1,444 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

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.