SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) Short Interest Update

SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,100,000 shares, a decrease of 57.7% from the October 15th total of 2,600,000 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 835,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

SBA Communications Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBAC traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $219.06. 291,077 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 925,884. SBA Communications has a one year low of $183.64 and a one year high of $258.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.55 billion, a PE ratio of 34.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $237.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.99.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The technology company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.17 by ($0.77). SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 13.13% and a net margin of 25.76%. The firm had revenue of $667.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $669.29 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SBA Communications will post 12.56 EPS for the current year.

SBA Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. SBA Communications’s payout ratio is 61.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director George R. Krouse, Jr. sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.58, for a total value of $71,363.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,775,084.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director George R. Krouse, Jr. sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.58, for a total value of $71,363.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,775,084.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Donald Day sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.86, for a total transaction of $364,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,213,814.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,389 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 28.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,355 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 136,400 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,558,000 after buying an additional 23,543 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 125,631 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,224,000 after buying an additional 16,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leo Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 43,174 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,356,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SBAC shares. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $232.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of SBA Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SBA Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.23.

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.