Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $125.00.

A number of research firms have commented on LAMR. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup cut shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Lamar Advertising in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

NASDAQ LAMR opened at $134.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s fifty day moving average is $131.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.74. Lamar Advertising has a 52-week low of $91.20 and a 52-week high of $139.88.

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

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders 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 4.15%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 113.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamar Advertising

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LAMR. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Lamar Advertising in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,603,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,382 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,792,000 after buying an additional 6,034 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 64,288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,589,000 after buying an additional 3,846 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Lamar Advertising in the 3rd quarter valued at about $134,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Lamar Advertising

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.