Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on LAMR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.40.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

LAMR stock opened at $127.15 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. The firm has a market cap of $13.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.43 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.22. Lamar Advertising has a 12-month low of $95.81 and a 12-month high of $139.88.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by ($0.73). Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.46% and a return on equity of 42.58%. The business had revenue of $564.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamar Advertising

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 37,042 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,776,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,223,000. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 5.0% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 30,888 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,127,000 after buying an additional 1,458 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in Lamar Advertising during the third quarter worth $342,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Lamar Advertising by 129.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 235,267 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,432,000 after buying an additional 132,734 shares during the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Lamar Advertising

Lamar Advertising Company operates as an outdoor advertising company in the United States and Canada. The company owns and operates billboards, logo signs, and transit advertising displays, as well as rents space for advertising on billboards, buses, shelters, benches, logo plates, and in airport terminals.