Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $132.40.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

Lamar Advertising stock opened at $128.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $13.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $131.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.08. Lamar Advertising has a 1 year low of $91.20 and a 1 year high of $139.88.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by ($0.73). The firm had revenue of $564.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.91 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.34% and a return on equity of 42.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. On average, 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 was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamar Advertising

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Lamar Advertising by 81.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 937,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $112,052,000 after buying an additional 420,311 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the third quarter worth about $43,665,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 49,140.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 285,102 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,090,000 after acquiring an additional 284,523 shares in the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 82.8% in the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 621,763 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $72,031,000 after purchasing an additional 281,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 42,096.3% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 126,167 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,856,000 after purchasing an additional 125,868 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamar Advertising Company Profile

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.