KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires Shares of 21,100 Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 21,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,569,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Lamar Advertising during the third quarter worth $25,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.60.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

LAMR opened at $113.98 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $122.82 and its 200-day moving average is $127.09. The stock has a market cap of $11.67 billion, a PE ratio of 32.29 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. Lamar Advertising has a twelve month low of $108.80 and a twelve month high of $139.88.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last posted its 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. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 16.40%. The firm had revenue of $579.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $583.19 million. On average, analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.44%. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is presently 175.64%.

Lamar Advertising 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.