Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 374 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $45,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LAMR. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Lamar Advertising during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 144.4% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LAMR. TD Cowen increased their price target on Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup cut shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lamar Advertising presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.25.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

LAMR opened at $129.44 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.86. The stock has a market cap of $13.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.58 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. Lamar Advertising has a 12 month low of $77.21 and a 12 month high of $129.51.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.67). The firm had revenue of $565.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.96 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 42.18% and a net margin of 23.34%. Lamar Advertising’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is 106.78%.

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.