Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the four analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $123.25.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup cut Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Lamar Advertising in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price target for the company.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LAMR opened at $130.95 on Thursday. Lamar Advertising has a twelve month low of $77.21 and a twelve month high of $132.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The company has a market capitalization of $13.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.22.

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

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Lamar Advertising

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,708,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,517,554,000 after buying an additional 68,484 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.4% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,770,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $210,889,000 after buying an additional 7,794 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 6.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,332,586 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $159,283,000 after buying an additional 75,955 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the fourth quarter valued at $111,255,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 81.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 937,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $112,052,000 after buying an additional 420,311 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.