Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.30

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of 0.30 per share on Monday, July 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th.

Sonic Automotive has raised its dividend payment by an average of 42.6% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 3 years. Sonic Automotive has a payout ratio of 18.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Sonic Automotive to earn $6.37 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.8%.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 10.8 %

SAH stock opened at $56.66 on Friday. Sonic Automotive has a 1-year low of $39.02 and a 1-year high of $60.24. The firm has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $52.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.86.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 28.06%. Sonic Automotive’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. Research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SAH shares. Bank of America upgraded Sonic Automotive from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday. TheStreet raised Sonic Automotive from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com cut Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.00.

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.