Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $132.40.

LAMR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamar Advertising

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Stephens Inc. AR raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 28,806 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,507,000 after purchasing an additional 1,982 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 85.8% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 31,155 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,793,000 after purchasing an additional 14,390 shares during the period. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 20,574 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,505,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 18,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596 shares during the period. Finally, Hedeker Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 17,962 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Lamar Advertising stock opened at $126.41 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. The company has a market capitalization of $12.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $126.15 and its 200 day moving average is $126.47. Lamar Advertising has a twelve month low of $102.10 and a twelve month high of $139.88.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.73). Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.46% and a return on equity of 42.58%. The business had revenue of $564.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.43%. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is 112.00%.

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.