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Can Value Investors Consider Sonic Automotive (SAH) Stock?
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Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?
One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put Sonic Automotive, Inc. (SAH - Free Report) stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:
PE Ratio
A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.
On this front, Sonic Automotive has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 12.5, as you can see in the chart below:
This level actually compares favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 17.95. However, if we focus on the long-term PE trend, Sonic Automotive’s current PE level puts it above its midpoint of 10.81 over the past five years.
The stock’s PE compares quite favorably with the Retail-Wholesale Market’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 26.03. This indicates that the stock is undervalued right now, compared to its peers.
Meanwhile, Sonic Automotive has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of 12.2, which is slightly lower than the current level. So, it is fair to say that a slightly more value-oriented path may be ahead for Sonic Automotive stock in the near term too.
P/S Ratio
Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.
Right now, Sonic Automotive has a P/S ratio of just 0.12. This is much lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.18x right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is much below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.
Broad Value Outlook
In aggregate, Sonic Automotive currently has a Value Score of A, putting it into the top 20% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes Sonic Automotive a solid choice for value investors.
What About the Stock Overall?
Though Sonic Automotive might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth Score of A and a Momentum Score of A. This gives SAH a Zacks VGM score — or its overarching fundamental grade — of A. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)
Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been bullish. The current quarter has seen no estimates go down in the past sixty days compared to three upward revisions, while the full year estimate has seen one down and four up in the same time period.
This has had a bullish effect on the consensus estimate. While the current-quarter consensus estimate has climbed 38.1% over the past two months, the current-year estimate has also shot up 8.7%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:
Such bullish analyst sentiments is the reason why the stock has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and it is the reason why we are looking for in outperformance from the company in the near term.
Bottom Line
Sonic Automotive is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. Also, a very strong industry rank (among Top 1% of more than 250 industries) and a Zacks Rank #1, instils investors’ optimism in the stock. Moreover, over the past two years, the broader industry has clearly outperformed the market at large, as you can see below:
We believe, a satisfactory past industry performance, a good industry and Zacks ranks signal that the stock is likely to benefit from favorable broader factors in the immediate future. Add to this robust value metrics, and we believe that we have a strong value contender in SAH.
Today's Best Stocks from Zacks
Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.
Image: Bigstock
Can Value Investors Consider Sonic Automotive (SAH) Stock?
Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?
One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put Sonic Automotive, Inc. (SAH - Free Report) stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:
PE Ratio
A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.
On this front, Sonic Automotive has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 12.5, as you can see in the chart below:
This level actually compares favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 17.95. However, if we focus on the long-term PE trend, Sonic Automotive’s current PE level puts it above its midpoint of 10.81 over the past five years.
The stock’s PE compares quite favorably with the Retail-Wholesale Market’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 26.03. This indicates that the stock is undervalued right now, compared to its peers.
Meanwhile, Sonic Automotive has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of 12.2, which is slightly lower than the current level. So, it is fair to say that a slightly more value-oriented path may be ahead for Sonic Automotive stock in the near term too.
P/S Ratio
Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.
Right now, Sonic Automotive has a P/S ratio of just 0.12. This is much lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.18x right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is much below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.
Broad Value Outlook
In aggregate, Sonic Automotive currently has a Value Score of A, putting it into the top 20% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes Sonic Automotive a solid choice for value investors.
What About the Stock Overall?
Though Sonic Automotive might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth Score of A and a Momentum Score of A. This gives SAH a Zacks VGM score — or its overarching fundamental grade — of A. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)
Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been bullish. The current quarter has seen no estimates go down in the past sixty days compared to three upward revisions, while the full year estimate has seen one down and four up in the same time period.
This has had a bullish effect on the consensus estimate. While the current-quarter consensus estimate has climbed 38.1% over the past two months, the current-year estimate has also shot up 8.7%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:
Sonic Automotive, Inc. Price and Consensus
Sonic Automotive, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Sonic Automotive, Inc. Quote
Such bullish analyst sentiments is the reason why the stock has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and it is the reason why we are looking for in outperformance from the company in the near term.
Bottom Line
Sonic Automotive is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. Also, a very strong industry rank (among Top 1% of more than 250 industries) and a Zacks Rank #1, instils investors’ optimism in the stock.
Moreover, over the past two years, the broader industry has clearly outperformed the market at large, as you can see below:
We believe, a satisfactory past industry performance, a good industry and Zacks ranks signal that the stock is likely to benefit from favorable broader factors in the immediate future. Add to this robust value metrics, and we believe that we have a strong value contender in SAH.
Today's Best Stocks from Zacks
Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.
This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.
See their latest picks free >>