SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $252.46.

SBAC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $257.00 to $254.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on SBA Communications from $251.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Raymond James upped their target price on SBA Communications from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com upgraded SBA Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (down from $260.00) on shares of SBA Communications in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at SBA Communications

In related news, EVP Mark R. Ciarfella sold 3,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.33, for a total value of $795,249.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,534,796.04. The trade was a 9.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donald Day sold 2,321 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.43, for a total value of $472,161.03. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,016,743.14. This represents a 31.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SBA Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of SBA Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in SBA Communications in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of SBA Communications in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of SBA Communications in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in SBA Communications by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SBA Communications Price Performance

Shares of SBAC stock opened at $196.83 on Monday. SBA Communications has a fifty-two week low of $183.64 and a fifty-two week high of $252.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $209.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.65. The firm has a market cap of $21.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.05, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.69.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The technology company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.17 by ($0.77). The firm had revenue of $667.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $669.29 million. SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 13.13% and a net margin of 25.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that SBA Communications will post 12.57 EPS for the current year.

SBA Communications Company Profile

SBA Communications Corporation is a leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure including towers, buildings, rooftops, distributed antenna systems (DAS) and small cells. With a portfolio of more than 39,000 communications sites throughout the Americas, Africa and in Asia, SBA is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol SBAC.