TD Cowen Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Stock

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) had its price objective hoisted by TD Cowen from $142.00 to $160.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on LAMR. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lamar Advertising currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.40.

Lamar Advertising Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Lamar Advertising stock opened at $127.15 on Monday. Lamar Advertising has a 1 year low of $95.81 and a 1 year high of $139.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $13.01 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $131.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.22.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.73). The company had revenue of $564.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.91 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.46% and a return on equity of 42.58%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is 112.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamar Advertising

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 444.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Lamar Advertising during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 144.4% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

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.