Prudential PLC Purchases 5,418 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Prudential PLC lifted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,389 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,418 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $5,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centersquare Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 603,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $73,410,000 after buying an additional 11,635 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 180.7% during the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 186,364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,688,000 after acquiring an additional 119,968 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,660 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 867,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $105,650,000 after purchasing an additional 17,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $617,000. 93.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

LAMR stock opened at $105.03 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.35. 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 12-month low of $102.95 and a 12-month high of $139.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.75 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.90%. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is currently 175.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on LAMR. Citigroup upped their price target on Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamar Advertising currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.60.

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.