Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Short Interest Up 21.7% in February

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,080,000 shares, an increase of 21.7% from the February 13th total of 2,530,000 shares. Currently, 3.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 510,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LAMR. Citigroup boosted their target price on Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.60.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamar Advertising

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,060 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,121 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,259 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,442,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Lamar Advertising by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Lamar Advertising by 3.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of LAMR opened at $114.75 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $123.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.51. The stock has a market cap of $11.75 billion, a PE ratio of 32.51 and a beta of 1.53. Lamar Advertising has a twelve month low of $108.80 and a twelve month high of $139.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $579.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $583.19 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 30.20%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is currently 175.64%.

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.