Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $125.00.

Several brokerages have commented on LAMR. StockNews.com raised Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Lamar Advertising in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 11th.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LAMR opened at $132.70 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $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. The stock has a market cap of $13.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.25 and a beta of 1.52.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 114.99%.

Institutional Trading of Lamar Advertising

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,708,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,517,554,000 after buying an additional 68,484 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,770,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $210,889,000 after acquiring an additional 7,794 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,332,586 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $159,283,000 after acquiring an additional 75,955 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the fourth quarter worth approximately $111,255,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 81.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 937,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $112,052,000 after purchasing an additional 420,311 shares during the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.