Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Grows Position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,995 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $6,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SPC Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,003 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.6% during the first quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 4,505 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 1.8% during the second quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 6,603 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $789,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 27,614 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,301,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $846,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.00.

Lamar Advertising Stock Down 2.1 %

LAMR opened at $132.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $122.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.77. Lamar Advertising has a twelve month low of $77.21 and a twelve month high of $137.40. 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 (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 23.34% and a return on equity of 42.18%. Lamar Advertising’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 earnings per share 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 given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.22%. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.99%.

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.