SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $230.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on SBA Communications from $228.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective (down previously from $260.00) on shares of SBA Communications in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays decreased their price objective on SBA Communications from $257.00 to $254.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.77.

SBA Communications Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of SBAC opened at $194.96 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $20.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.69. SBA Communications has a 1 year low of $183.64 and a 1 year high of $252.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $213.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.36.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The technology company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.17 by ($0.77). The firm had revenue of $667.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $669.29 million. SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 13.13% and a net margin of 25.76%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that SBA Communications will post 12.56 EPS for the current year.

SBA Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Donald Day sold 2,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.43, for a total value of $472,161.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,743.14. This trade represents a 31.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark R. Ciarfella sold 3,545 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.33, for a total transaction of $795,249.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 33,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,534,796.04. This represents a 9.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of SBA Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in SBA Communications by 2,821.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,216,094 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $292,714,000 after acquiring an additional 1,174,469 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 377.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 886,384 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $213,353,000 after purchasing an additional 700,791 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in SBA Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $134,738,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in SBA Communications by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,254,460 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,024,049,000 after purchasing an additional 605,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Long Pond Capital LP bought a new stake in SBA Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $83,687,000. Institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

SBA Communications Company Profile

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.