SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on SBA Communications from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Raymond James boosted their price target on SBA Communications from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $230.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down previously from $260.00) on shares of SBA Communications in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $257.00 to $254.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.46.

SBA Communications Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SBAC opened at $198.69 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $210.26 and a 200 day moving average of $221.61. The company has a market cap of $21.36 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.69. SBA Communications has a 12-month low of $183.64 and a 12-month high of $252.64.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The technology company reported $2.40 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $669.29 million. SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 13.13% and a net margin of 25.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that SBA Communications will post 12.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.83%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of SBA Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of SBA Communications during the third quarter worth $35,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of SBA Communications during the third quarter worth $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 32.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, CKW Financial Group bought a new position in shares of SBA Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

About SBA Communications

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.