SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $257.23.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on SBA Communications from $251.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on SBA Communications from $232.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on SBA Communications from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th.

SBA Communications Price Performance

SBAC stock opened at $220.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.67. SBA Communications has a 1-year low of $183.64 and a 1-year high of $258.76. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $231.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $219.09.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The technology company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.17 by ($0.77). The company had revenue of $667.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $669.29 million. SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 13.13% and a net margin of 25.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.34 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that SBA Communications will post 12.56 earnings per share for the current year.

SBA Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.83%.

Insider Activity at SBA Communications

In related news, EVP Donald Day sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.86, for a total value of $364,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,998 shares in the company, valued at $1,213,814.28. This trade represents a 23.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SBAC. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of SBA Communications during the third quarter worth $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in SBA Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in SBA Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in SBA Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in SBA Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

SBA Communications Company Profile

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.