SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $244.00 to $247.00. The stock had previously closed at $223.28, but opened at $234.08. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. SBA Communications shares last traded at $236.38, with a volume of 19,792 shares.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of SBA Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded SBA Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. JMP Securities started coverage on shares of SBA Communications in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Citizens Jmp raised shares of SBA Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $255.00 price target on shares of SBA Communications in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, SBA Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $252.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at SBA Communications

In other SBA Communications news, VP Joshua Koenig sold 2,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.18, for a total value of $495,213.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,362,790.22. This trade represents a 26.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SBAC. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in SBA Communications by 352.5% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 7,346,255 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,497,167,000 after purchasing an additional 5,722,740 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 16.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,254,460 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,024,049,000 after buying an additional 605,872 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of SBA Communications by 2.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 71,023 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in SBA Communications by 5.9% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 1,883,065 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $383,762,000 after buying an additional 432,644 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

SBA Communications Trading Up 5.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $25.32 billion, a PE ratio of 37.28, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $219.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $216.36.

SBA Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $1.11 dividend. This is an increase from SBA Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 63.98%.

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.