Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR – Get Rating) in a report issued on Thursday. The firm issued a hold rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LAMR. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $108.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, February 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $116.75.

Lamar Advertising Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of Lamar Advertising stock traded down $2.08 on Thursday, hitting $93.82. 743,773 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 425,974. The company has a market cap of $9.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72 and a beta of 1.39. Lamar Advertising has a 12-month low of $81.10 and a 12-month high of $119.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $103.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($1.04). The business had revenue of $535.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $536.42 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 35.56% and a net margin of 21.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 16th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.33%. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Lamar Advertising by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,037 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its position in Lamar Advertising by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 3,002 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC raised its position in Lamar Advertising by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 17,807 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Lamar Advertising by 40.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 389 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Lamar Advertising by 2.8% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,129 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

About Lamar Advertising

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Lamar Advertising Co engages in advertising services. The firm rents advertising space on billboards, buses, shelters, benches, logo plates, and in airport terminals. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Baton Rouge, LA.