Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Raises Dividend to $1.55 Per Share

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 19th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of 1.55 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.70%. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40.

Lamar Advertising has raised its dividend payment by an average of 15.6% annually over the last three years. Lamar Advertising has a payout ratio of 89.9% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Analysts expect Lamar Advertising to earn $7.92 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 70.7%.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

LAMR stock traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $132.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,132,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,553. The company has a market capitalization of $13.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40 and a beta of 1.51. Lamar Advertising has a 12-month low of $106.43 and a 12-month high of $139.88. 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 50-day moving average price of $124.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.40.

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.