Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Stock

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 4.70% from the stock’s previous close.

LAMR has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Lamar Advertising in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamar Advertising currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.40.

Lamar Advertising Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ LAMR opened at $128.94 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $13.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. Lamar Advertising has a 12 month low of $91.20 and a 12 month high of $139.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $131.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.08.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by ($0.73). Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 42.18% and a net margin of 23.34%. The company had revenue of $564.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.04 earnings per share. Lamar Advertising’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamar Advertising

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAMR. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.7% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,576,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 6.6% during the third quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,349 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Lamar Advertising by 3.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 1.0% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 9,945 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,329,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.