SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $241.75.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SBAC shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on SBA Communications from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $228.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of SBA Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of SBA Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $212.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director George R. Krouse, Jr. sold 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.58, for a total transaction of $71,363.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,084 shares in the company, valued at $1,775,084.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other SBA Communications news, Chairman Jeffrey Stoops sold 49,765 shares of SBA Communications stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.01, for a total transaction of $11,048,327.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 109,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,328,521.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director George R. Krouse, Jr. sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.58, for a total value of $71,363.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,775,084.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,590 shares of company stock valued at $11,483,981. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SBA Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SBAC. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in SBA Communications by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,386 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,330 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares during the period. Commerce Bank increased its position in shares of SBA Communications by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 2,405 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in SBA Communications by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 10,260 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,549,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in SBA Communications by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 28,310 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,182,000 after acquiring an additional 1,667 shares in the last quarter. 97.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SBA Communications Price Performance

NASDAQ:SBAC opened at $240.53 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $209.34. SBA Communications has a 1-year low of $183.64 and a 1-year high of $258.76. The firm has a market cap of $25.84 billion, a PE ratio of 47.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.67.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.07 by ($0.56). SBA Communications had a net margin of 19.22% and a negative return on equity of 9.85%. The business had revenue of $660.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $665.21 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.24 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SBA Communications will post 12.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.86%.

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.