SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on SBAC. JMP Securities started coverage on SBA Communications in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Citizens Jmp upgraded SBA Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $230.00 price target (down previously from $260.00) on shares of SBA Communications in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SBA Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $251.92.

SBA Communications Price Performance

SBAC stock opened at $219.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $23.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.74. SBA Communications has a 12 month low of $183.64 and a 12 month high of $252.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $218.81.

SBA Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $1.11 dividend. This is a positive change from SBA Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.98%.

Insider Transactions at SBA Communications

In other news, VP Joshua Koenig sold 2,209 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.18, for a total transaction of $495,213.62. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,362,790.22. This represents a 26.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SBA Communications

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SBAC. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in shares of SBA Communications by 352.5% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 7,346,255 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,497,167,000 after buying an additional 5,722,740 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in SBA Communications by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,643,527 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,117,697,000 after purchasing an additional 81,566 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in SBA Communications by 16.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,254,460 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,024,049,000 after purchasing an additional 605,872 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in SBA Communications by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,886,158 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $586,827,000 after purchasing an additional 71,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of SBA Communications by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,411,920 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $491,549,000 after purchasing an additional 134,624 shares during the period. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.