Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Lamar Advertising from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

LAMR stock opened at $116.96 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $11.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.02 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.38. Lamar Advertising has a 1 year low of $77.21 and a 1 year high of $121.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.56.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.71). The firm had revenue of $498.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.98 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.29% and a return on equity of 41.86%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.45%. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is 106.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $594,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,700. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 14.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 390,474 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,500,000 after purchasing an additional 22,778 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 90,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,521,000 after buying an additional 9,640 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 125.1% in the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 17,420 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,851,000 after acquiring an additional 9,680 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 43.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 493 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 13.7% in the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 7,982 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 963 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

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.