Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ:SONC) by 36.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 169,932 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 45,028 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Sonic Corp. were worth $4,501,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Corp. by 4.8% in the first quarter. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC now owns 65,529 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,662,000 after buying an additional 3,025 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Corp. by 4.8% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 72,561 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Karp Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Corp. during the first quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Corp. during the first quarter valued at approximately $440,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA boosted its stake in shares of Sonic Corp. by 1.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 15,327 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.48% of the company’s stock.
Sonic Corp. (SONC) opened at 23.77 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.79 and a 200-day moving average of $26.05. Sonic Corp. has a 52 week low of $21.12 and a 52 week high of $30.05. The company has a market cap of $993.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 1.74.
Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ:SONC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 22nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $124 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $122.58 million. Sonic Corp. had a net margin of 13.23% and a negative return on equity of 44.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Sonic Corp. will post $1.24 earnings per share for the current year.
Sonic Corp. declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, August 9th that permits the company to repurchase $160.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 16.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 7th. Sonic Corp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.33%.
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Several research firms recently weighed in on SONC. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Sonic Corp. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. Bank of America Corporation lowered shares of Sonic Corp. from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 13th. BidaskClub lowered shares of Sonic Corp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Sonic Corp. in a research note on Tuesday, May 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc. reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Corp. in a research note on Monday, June 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Sonic Corp. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.75.
In related news, Director Steven A. Davis acquired 2,000 shares of Sonic Corp. stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.62 per share, with a total value of $49,240.00. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 6.24% of the company’s stock.
About Sonic Corp.
Sonic Corp. operates and franchises the chain of drive-thru restaurants (Sonic Drive-Ins) in the United States. As of August 31, 2016, 3,557 Sonic Drive-Ins were in operation from coast to coast in 45 states, consisting of 345 Company drive-thrus and 3,212 franchise drive-thrus. As of August 31, 2016, its restaurant design and construction consisted of a kitchen housed in a one-story building, which was approximately 1,500 square feet, flanked by canopy-covered rows of 16 to 24 parking spaces, with each space having its own payment terminal, intercom speaker system and menu board.
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