How to buy Sony (SNE) shares in the UK

Sony Group Corporation (SNE) is a leading consumer electronics business based in the US. It opened the day at $98.73 after a previous close of $99.18. During the day the price has varied from a low of $97.59 to a high of $98.97. The latest price was $98.06 (25 minute delay). All prices are listed in US Dollars.

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How has coronavirus impacted Sony's share price?

Since the stock market crash that started in February 2020, Sony's share price has had significant positive movement.

Its last market close was $98.06, which is 32.76% up on its pre-crash value of $65.94 and 92.50% up on the lowest point reached during the March 2020 crash when the shares fell as low as $50.94.

If you had bought $1,000 worth of Sony shares at the start of February 2020, those shares would have been worth $750.65 at the bottom of the March crash, and if you held on to them, then as of the last market close they'd be worth $1,391.47.

Sony share price (N/A:SNE)

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Fees for buying 10x Sony shares with popular platforms

Both exchange rates and share prices fluctuate in real time, so the costs presented here should be considered as a guide only. They do not incorporate stamp duty. Always refer to the platform itself for availability and pricing – which may differ from our information.

Platform	Platform fee	Min. initial deposit	Trading fee estimate
	£0	No minimum	£3.21 £716.60 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	£0	$50	£3.57 £716.95 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	£0	No minimum	£7.13 £720.52 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	£0	£0.01	£1.17 £714.55 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	£0	£50	£3.60 £716.98 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	£0	£1	£19.11 £732.50 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	£9.99 per month	No minimum	£18.72 £732.11 total	Go to site Capital at risk
	£36 per year	£20	£18.45 £731.83 total	Read review Capital at risk

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Is Sony under- or over-valued?

Valuing a stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge value.

P/E ratio

Sony's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 14x. In other words, Sony shares trade at around 14x recent earnings.

However, Sony's P/E ratio is best considered in relation to those of others within the consumer electronics industry or those of similar companies.

• Apple (AAPL.US): 28.21
• Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US): 37.77
• HP (HPQ.US): 8.86

PEG ratio

Sony's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 1.9414. A PEG ratio over 1 can be interpreted as meaning shares are overvalued at the current rate of growth, or may anticipate an acceleration in growth.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Sony's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

However, it's sensible to consider Sony's PEG ratio in relation to those of similar companies.

• Apple (AAPL.US): 1.96
• Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US): 3.09
• HP (HPQ.US): 0.89

EBITDA

Sony's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is a whopping $11.7 billion (£8.5 billion).

The EBITDA is a measure of a Sony's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

To put that into context you can compare it against similar companies.

• Apple (AAPL.US): USD$110.9 billion
• Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US): USD$80.8 billion
• HP (HPQ.US): USD$6.1 billion

How to short and sell Sony shares

1. Create a CFD or spread betting account.
2. Search for the stock code. E.g. "SNE.US"
3. Choose your position size.
4. Select "sell" rather than "buy".
5. Confirm your position and keep tabs on it. You may wish to set limits on your position.

There are currently 2.1 million Sony shares held short by investors – that's known as the "short interest". This figure is 14.6% down from 2.5 million last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Sony shares can be evaluated.

Short interest ratio (SIR)

Sony's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Sony shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Sony shares traded daily (recently around 1.1 million). Sony's SIR currently stands at 1.93. In other words for every 100,000 Sony shares traded daily on the market, roughly 1930 shares are currently held short.

To gain some more context, you can compare Sony's short interest ratio against those of similar companies.

• Apple (AAPL.US): 1.18
• Spotify Technology S-A (SPOT.US): 3.98
• Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US): 1.99
• HP (HPQ.US): 5.05

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Sony.

Find out more about how you can short Sony stock.

Sony share dividends

• Dividend yield
• Forward yield
• Payout ratio

Sony has recently paid out dividends equivalent to 0.44% of its share value annually.

Sony has paid out, on average, around 3% of recent net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 0.44% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), shareholders could enjoy a 0.44% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Sony's case, that would currently equate to about $0.455 per share.

While Sony's payout ratio might seem low, this can signify that the company is investing more in its future growth.

Sony's most recent dividend payout was on 8 December 2017. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 28 September 2020 (the "ex-dividend date").

Sony's dividend yield is perhaps best considered in relation to those of similar companies.

• Apple (AAPL.US): 0.58% (0.62% forward annual dividend yield)
• Spotify Technology S-A (SPOT.US): 0.00% (does not pay dividend)
• Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US): 0.74% (0.82% forward annual dividend yield)
• HP (HPQ.US): 2.76% (2.82% forward annual dividend yield)

Have Sony's shares ever split?

Sony's shares were split on a 2:1 basis on 25 May 2000. So if you had owned 1 share the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 2 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Sony shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 50% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Sony shares which in turn could have impacted Sony's share price.

Share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Sony's shares have ranged in value from as little as $72.45 up to $118.5. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (N/A average) beta is 1, while Sony's is 0.8056. This would suggest that Sony's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).

To put Sony's beta into context you can compare it against those of similar companies.

• Apple (AAPL.US): 1.2222
• Spotify Technology S-A (SPOT.US): 1.4864
• Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US): 0.8026
• HP (HPQ.US): 1.0429

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Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of Sony is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 0.026% of Sony shares are held by insiders and 7.877% by institutions.

• How many people work for Sony?

  Latest data suggests 111,700 work at Sony.

• When does the fiscal year end for Sony?

  Sony's fiscal year ends in March.