Inspire Investing LLC Grows Position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 3.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,249 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 683 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $2,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Lamar Advertising during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in Lamar Advertising by 144.4% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 85.8% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on LAMR shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Lamar Advertising in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.00.

Lamar Advertising Stock Up 0.8 %

Lamar Advertising stock opened at $130.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Lamar Advertising has a 1-year low of $77.21 and a 1-year high of $132.21. The company has a market cap of $13.39 billion, a PE ratio of 26.89 and a beta of 1.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $120.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.22.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last posted its quarterly 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). Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.34% and a return on equity of 42.18%. The business had revenue of $565.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.96 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is currently 114.99%.

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.