Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also commented on LAMR. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen boosted 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 price objective on Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.00.

Lamar Advertising Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ LAMR traded down $1.81 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $131.79. 252,263 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 413,518. 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 $137.40. The stock has a market cap of $13.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.06 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.13.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.67). Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 42.18% and a net margin of 23.34%. The company had revenue of $565.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $564.96 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamar Advertising

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Lamar Advertising in the 4th quarter worth approximately $111,255,000. Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 97.6% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 913,833 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $98,347,000 after buying an additional 451,429 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 81.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 937,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $112,052,000 after buying an additional 420,311 shares in the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 82.8% in the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 621,763 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $72,031,000 after acquiring an additional 281,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 6.0% in the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 75,955 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.