SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $257.23.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SBAC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $236.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on SBA Communications from $232.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 report on Thursday, October 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at SBA Communications

In other news, EVP Donald Day sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.86, for a total transaction of $364,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,213,814.28. This represents a 23.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director George R. Krouse, Jr. sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.58, for a total transaction of $71,363.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,775,084.72. This represents a 3.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SBA Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of SBA Communications by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,368,209 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,763,691,000 after buying an additional 88,339 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in SBA Communications by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,643,527 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,117,697,000 after buying an additional 81,566 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of SBA Communications by 13.4% during the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,973,867 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $387,470,000 after purchasing an additional 233,179 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 5.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,269,786 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $305,637,000 after buying an additional 62,555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in SBA Communications by 2,821.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,216,094 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $292,714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174,469 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

SBA Communications Trading Up 1.2 %

SBAC stock opened at $221.09 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $236.35 and its 200-day moving average is $216.56. SBA Communications has a 1-year low of $183.64 and a 1-year high of $258.76. The firm has a market cap of $23.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.68.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $669.29 million. SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 13.13% and a net margin of 25.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that SBA Communications will post 12.56 EPS for the current year.

SBA Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. SBA Communications’s payout ratio is currently 61.83%.

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.