Forte Capital LLC ADV Lowers Holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Forte Capital LLC ADV reduced its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 17,928 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,937 shares during the period. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $2,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 444.1% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 144.4% in the 2nd 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. Concord Wealth Partners acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lamar Advertising during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

NASDAQ LAMR opened at $132.14 on Thursday. Lamar Advertising has a 52 week low of $91.20 and a 52 week high of $139.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The stock has a market cap of $13.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.80 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $131.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.65.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.67). The company had revenue of $565.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.96 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.34% and a return on equity of 42.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. Analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.