SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

SBAC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $255.00 price target on shares of SBA Communications in a research report on Monday, February 24th. JMP Securities assumed coverage on SBA Communications in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Citizens Jmp upgraded SBA Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on SBA Communications from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SBA Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $251.92.

SBA Communications Stock Performance

SBAC stock opened at $219.34 on Wednesday. SBA Communications has a 52 week low of $183.64 and a 52 week high of $252.64. The company has a market capitalization of $23.60 billion, a PE ratio of 34.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.90.

SBA Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $1.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from SBA Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.98%.

Insider Transactions at SBA Communications

In related news, VP Joshua Koenig sold 2,209 shares of SBA Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.18, for a total transaction of $495,213.62. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,362,790.22. This trade represents a 26.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SBA Communications

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in SBA Communications by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 387,967 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $93,384,000 after buying an additional 59,368 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 36.2% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,867 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in SBA Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Concentric Capital Strategies LP acquired a new stake in SBA Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $785,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in SBA Communications by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 46,252 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,062,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

SBA Communications Company Profile

SBA Communications Corporation is a leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure including towers, buildings, rooftops, distributed antenna systems (DAS) and small cells. With a portfolio of more than 39,000 communications sites throughout the Americas, Africa and in Asia, SBA is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol SBAC.