Securian Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 186 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 109.3% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the third quarter valued at about $443,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the third quarter valued at about $12,838,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 10.0% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the third quarter valued at about $205,000. 93.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on LAMR. Citigroup lifted their price target on Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $134.60.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Shares of LAMR stock opened at $111.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $123.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.72. Lamar Advertising has a 52 week low of $108.80 and a 52 week high of $139.88. The company has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.60 and a beta of 1.53.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $579.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $583.19 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 16.40%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is 175.64%.

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.