SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on SBA Communications from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp boosted their target price on SBA Communications from $230.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $257.00 to $254.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $251.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down previously from $260.00) on shares of SBA Communications in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SBA Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.46.

SBA Communications Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of SBAC traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $198.69. 576,709 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 835,851. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.61. SBA Communications has a fifty-two week low of $183.64 and a fifty-two week high of $252.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.36 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.69.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The technology company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.17 by ($0.77). The firm had revenue of $667.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.34 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that SBA Communications will post 12.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Donald Day sold 2,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.43, for a total value of $472,161.03. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,998 shares in the company, valued at $1,016,743.14. This trade represents a 31.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark R. Ciarfella sold 3,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.33, for a total value of $795,249.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,534,796.04. This trade represents a 9.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of SBA Communications during the third quarter worth $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of SBA Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in SBA Communications in the third quarter valued at $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in SBA Communications by 32.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CKW Financial Group bought a new position in SBA Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.