SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $217.82, but opened at $211.64. SBA Communications shares last traded at $216.15, with a volume of 216,037 shares trading hands.

The technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.07 by ($0.56). The business had revenue of $660.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $665.21 million. SBA Communications had a net margin of 20.61% and a negative return on equity of 10.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.24 EPS.

SBA Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. SBA Communications’s payout ratio is 76.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SBAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $266.00 to $253.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $250.00 to $235.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $276.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com upgraded SBA Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.46.

Institutional Trading of SBA Communications

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 54.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,300,157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $931,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,524,302 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in SBA Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $286,079,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in SBA Communications by 111.8% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 734,795 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $186,410,000 after purchasing an additional 387,855 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in SBA Communications by 144.7% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 359,736 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $77,955,000 after buying an additional 212,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of SBA Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $53,679,000. Institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

SBA Communications Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $197.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.91. The firm has a market cap of $23.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.65.

About SBA Communications

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.