SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup cut their price target on SBA Communications from $290.00 to $260.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. KeyCorp cut their price target on SBA Communications from $276.00 to $227.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Bank of America upgraded SBA Communications from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $260.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on SBA Communications from $250.00 to $235.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on SBA Communications from $266.00 to $253.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $252.17.

SBA Communications Stock Performance

SBAC stock opened at $196.30 on Friday. SBA Communications has a 1 year low of $183.64 and a 1 year high of $258.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $194.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $214.06. The firm has a market cap of $21.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.49, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.65.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.21. SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 10.75% and a net margin of 20.61%. The firm had revenue of $657.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $671.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.13 EPS. SBA Communications’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that SBA Communications will post 12.51 earnings per share for the current year.

SBA Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. SBA Communications’s payout ratio is 76.86%.

Institutional Trading of SBA Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in SBA Communications by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 272,065 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,854,000 after purchasing an additional 16,244 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Trust acquired a new stake in SBA Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $3,256,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in SBA Communications by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 707,743 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $179,547,000 after purchasing an additional 19,462 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in SBA Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $7,422,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in SBA Communications by 596.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 225,128 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $57,113,000 after purchasing an additional 192,791 shares in the last quarter. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.