StockNews.com Lowers Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) to Hold

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

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on LAMR. Citigroup cut Lamar Advertising from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $122.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Lamar Advertising in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set an equal weight rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $125.00.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LAMR opened at $133.74 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $125.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.46 and a beta of 1.52. Lamar Advertising has a one year low of $79.94 and a one year high of $137.40.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.67). Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 42.18% and a net margin of 23.34%. The company had revenue of $565.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.96 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 114.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAMR. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $111,255,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 81.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 937,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $112,052,000 after acquiring an additional 420,311 shares during the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 82.8% during the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 621,763 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $72,031,000 after purchasing an additional 281,582 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 6.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,332,586 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $159,283,000 after purchasing an additional 75,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,708,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,517,554,000 after purchasing an additional 68,484 shares during the period. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.