SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $219.34, but opened at $224.74. SBA Communications shares last traded at $227.54, with a volume of 181,106 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down previously from $260.00) on shares of SBA Communications in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com lowered SBA Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their target price on SBA Communications from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of SBA Communications in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on SBA Communications from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $251.92.

SBA Communications Stock Down 4.7 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $213.48 and a 200-day moving average of $218.81. The firm has a market cap of $23.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.74.

SBA Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $1.11 per share. This is an increase from SBA Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. SBA Communications’s payout ratio is currently 63.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Joshua Koenig sold 2,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.18, for a total transaction of $495,213.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,362,790.22. This trade represents a 26.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SBA Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBAC. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in SBA Communications by 352.5% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 7,346,255 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,497,167,000 after acquiring an additional 5,722,740 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of SBA Communications in the fourth quarter worth $268,287,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in SBA Communications by 23,553.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 1,126,828 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $229,648,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122,064 shares during the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON raised its stake in SBA Communications by 27,449.9% in the fourth quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 991,245 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $202,016,000 after purchasing an additional 987,647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,254,460 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,024,049,000 after acquiring an additional 605,872 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

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.