Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.06 EPS

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The real estate investment trust reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.06, Zacks reports. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 41.85%. The company had revenue of $585.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $584.00 million.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

NASDAQ LAMR traded up $6.38 on Friday, reaching $126.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,249,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 598,036. Lamar Advertising has a 52 week low of $99.84 and a 52 week high of $135.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.45. The firm has a market cap of $12.79 billion, a PE ratio of 29.38 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $122.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.25.

Lamar Advertising Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 19th were paid a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 19th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is presently 145.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.28, for a total value of $2,734,160.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 14.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 123.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,475,525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $177,152,000 after purchasing an additional 816,217 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 488,671 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,305,000 after purchasing an additional 31,887 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Lamar Advertising by 0.6% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 152,967 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $18,564,000 after buying an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Lamar Advertising by 102.5% during the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 133,030 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,145,000 after buying an additional 67,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 228.8% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 93,430 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,339,000 after buying an additional 65,016 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lamar Advertising

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.