Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Reaches New 1-Year High at $132.28

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $132.28 and last traded at $132.01, with a volume of 130555 shares. The stock had previously closed at $130.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAMR has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup downgraded Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Lamar Advertising in a research report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.00.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $13.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.42 and a beta of 1.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $121.49 and its 200 day moving average is $118.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31.

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 business had revenue of $565.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.96 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.34% and a return on equity of 42.18%. Lamar Advertising’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is 114.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Lamar Advertising in the 4th quarter valued at about $111,255,000. Morningstar Investment Services LLC lifted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 97.6% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 913,833 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $98,347,000 after purchasing an additional 451,429 shares in the last quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising during the 4th quarter worth about $3,950,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 82.8% during 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 period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 399,678 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,774,000 after acquiring an additional 8,857 shares during the period. 93.78% of the stock is currently 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.