HM Payson & Co. Buys 807 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 366.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,027 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 807 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $137,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 444.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners purchased a new position in Lamar Advertising during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 144.4% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the second quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup cut Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Lamar Advertising in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.00.

Lamar Advertising Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Lamar Advertising stock opened at $131.25 on Friday. Lamar Advertising has a twelve month low of $85.82 and a twelve month high of $139.88. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $130.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.13. The firm has a market cap of $13.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62 and a beta of 1.52.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.34% and a return on equity of 42.18%. The firm had revenue of $565.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.96 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is currently 113.59%.

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.