Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $132.40.

LAMR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamar Advertising

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.2% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Lamar Advertising by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,576,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,349 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LAMR opened at $127.82 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Lamar Advertising has a 1 year low of $102.10 and a 1 year high of $139.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56 and a beta of 1.50.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.73). The company had revenue of $564.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.91 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.46% and a return on equity of 42.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.00%.

Lamar Advertising Company Profile

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.