SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $244.08.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on SBA Communications from $232.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on SBA Communications from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on SBA Communications from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th.

SBA Communications Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SBAC opened at $240.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.86 billion, a PE ratio of 47.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.67. SBA Communications has a 1 year low of $183.64 and a 1 year high of $258.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $227.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.00.

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

SBA Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. SBA Communications’s payout ratio is currently 76.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Donald Day sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.86, for a total transaction of $364,290.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,998 shares in the company, valued at $1,213,814.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Donald Day sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.86, for a total value of $364,290.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,213,814.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey Stoops sold 49,765 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.01, for a total transaction of $11,048,327.65. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 109,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,328,521.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 51,590 shares of company stock valued at $11,483,981. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SBA Communications

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in SBA Communications by 0.6% during the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,265 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,819,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,068 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in SBA Communications by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,457 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in SBA Communications by 3.9% during the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,560 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Warwick Investment Management Inc. increased its position in SBA Communications by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,061 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

About SBA Communications

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.