Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) in a research report report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $132.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on LAMR. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup downgraded Lamar Advertising from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $122.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Lamar Advertising from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lamar Advertising currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $125.00.

Lamar Advertising Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LAMR opened at $131.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $121.17 and its 200-day moving average is $118.31. The company has a market cap of $13.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02 and a beta of 1.52. Lamar Advertising has a 52-week low of $77.21 and a 52-week high of $132.35.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.67). Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.34% and a return on equity of 42.18%. The business had revenue of $565.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.96 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.26%. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 18th. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is presently 114.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamar Advertising

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,708,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,517,554,000 after acquiring an additional 68,484 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,770,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $210,889,000 after purchasing an additional 7,794 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,332,586 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $159,283,000 after purchasing an additional 75,955 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 4th quarter worth about $111,255,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 81.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 937,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $112,052,000 after purchasing an additional 420,311 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is 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.