Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Short Interest Up 19.5% in March

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,680,000 shares, a growth of 19.5% from the February 28th total of 3,080,000 shares. Currently, 4.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 586,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.60.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Shares of Lamar Advertising stock traded down $4.98 on Thursday, hitting $110.98. The stock had a trading volume of 709,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 451,951. The stock has a market cap of $11.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.42 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. Lamar Advertising has a 52-week low of $108.80 and a 52-week high of $139.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $121.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.68.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $579.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $583.19 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 16.40%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.59%. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is currently 175.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 453.6% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,660,664 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $323,900,000 after buying an additional 2,180,011 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Lamar Advertising by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,974,848 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $263,840,000 after acquiring an additional 617,356 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Lamar Advertising by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,527,270 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $672,890,000 after acquiring an additional 545,606 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 108.3% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 905,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $110,220,000 after purchasing an additional 470,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,255,000. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.