Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Grows Position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 26.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,142 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LAMR. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 444.1% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 84.3% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,970 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,274 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in Lamar Advertising by 0.7% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,576,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 106.3% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,764 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,778,000 after buying an additional 926 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $134.60.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

Shares of LAMR opened at $122.16 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.63. The stock has a market cap of $12.50 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61 and a beta of 1.51. Lamar Advertising has a 1-year low of $108.23 and a 1-year high of $139.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.74. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 16.40%. The company had revenue of $579.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $583.19 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.08%. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is presently 175.64%.

Lamar Advertising Company Profile

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.