Private Management Group Inc. Reduces Position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Private Management Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 162,124 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 9,378 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $19,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Trust Point Inc. bought a new position in Lamar Advertising in the 4th quarter valued at $462,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 420,640 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,209,000 after purchasing an additional 12,827 shares during the period. JB Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 29,016 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Willis Investment Counsel purchased a new position in Lamar Advertising in the 4th quarter worth about $369,000. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners lifted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 4,483 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on LAMR shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com lowered Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, 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, November 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.40.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

NASDAQ LAMR opened at $126.35 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $12.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.27 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $125.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. Lamar Advertising has a 52-week low of $102.10 and a 52-week high of $139.88.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.73). The company had revenue of $564.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.91 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.46% and a return on equity of 42.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.43%. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.00%.

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.