Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

LAMR has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th.

Lamar Advertising Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:LAMR opened at $116.96 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Lamar Advertising has a 12-month low of $77.21 and a 12-month high of $121.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.02 and a beta of 1.49.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.71). The company had revenue of $498.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $496.98 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 41.86% and a net margin of 23.29%. Lamar Advertising’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.45%. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is presently 106.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamar Advertising

In other news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $594,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,189,700. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 14.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 32.7% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,953,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $313,871,000 after acquiring an additional 727,207 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position 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 worth $210,889,000 after purchasing an additional 7,794 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 43.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,693,447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $141,352,000 after purchasing an additional 512,182 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 2.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,441,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $120,336,000 after purchasing an additional 39,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Lamar Advertising in the 4th quarter valued at $111,255,000. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.