Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Stock

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) had its price target hoisted by Barclays from $240.00 to $244.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the technology company’s stock.

SBAC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $255.00 price target on shares of SBA Communications in a report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on SBA Communications from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JMP Securities initiated coverage on SBA Communications in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Citizens Jmp upgraded SBA Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target (down from $260.00) on shares of SBA Communications in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $252.85.

SBA Communications Stock Up 0.3 %

SBAC opened at $221.64 on Friday. SBA Communications has a 52 week low of $183.64 and a 52 week high of $252.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $209.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.01. The company has a market capitalization of $23.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.96, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.74.

SBA Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $1.11 dividend. This is a boost from SBA Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SBA Communications news, VP Joshua Koenig sold 2,209 shares of SBA Communications stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.18, for a total transaction of $495,213.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,362,790.22. The trade was a 26.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of SBA Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in SBA Communications by 352.5% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 7,346,255 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,497,167,000 after acquiring an additional 5,722,740 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in SBA Communications by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,643,527 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,117,697,000 after acquiring an additional 81,566 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,254,460 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,024,049,000 after buying an additional 605,872 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,886,158 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $586,827,000 after buying an additional 71,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,411,920 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $491,549,000 after buying an additional 134,624 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

About SBA Communications

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.