Insider Selling: SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) Chairman Sells 49,765 Shares of Stock

SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) Chairman Jeffrey Stoops sold 49,765 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.01, for a total value of $11,048,327.65. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 109,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,328,521.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

SBA Communications Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBAC traded up $2.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $229.73. 1,866,518 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 964,660. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.68 billion, a PE ratio of 44.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.65. SBA Communications Co. has a one year low of $183.64 and a one year high of $258.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $199.60 and its 200 day moving average is $206.99.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.07 by ($0.56). The company had revenue of $660.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $665.21 million. SBA Communications had a net margin of 19.22% and a negative return on equity of 9.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.24 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that SBA Communications Co. will post 12.53 EPS for the current year.

SBA Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SBA Communications

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBAC. Legacy Trust bought a new position in SBA Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $3,256,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in SBA Communications by 191.3% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 25,828 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,597,000 after purchasing an additional 16,962 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in SBA Communications by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 707,743 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $179,547,000 after purchasing an additional 19,462 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in SBA Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,422,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in SBA Communications by 596.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 225,128 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $57,113,000 after purchasing an additional 192,791 shares in the last quarter. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on SBA Communications from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. KeyCorp upped their price target on SBA Communications from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup dropped their price target on SBA Communications from $290.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on SBA Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $212.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded SBA Communications from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $240.83.

SBA Communications Company Profile

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.