SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down previously from $260.00) on shares of SBA Communications in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $230.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on SBA Communications from $251.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on SBA Communications from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.46.

SBA Communications Stock Performance

Shares of SBAC opened at $196.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.69. SBA Communications has a 52 week low of $183.64 and a 52 week high of $252.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $209.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.47.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last issued 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). SBA Communications had a net margin of 25.76% and a negative return on equity of 13.13%. The company had revenue of $667.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $669.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.34 earnings per share. SBA Communications’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that SBA Communications will post 12.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SBA Communications

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 17.2% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 14,912 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,927,000 after acquiring an additional 2,186 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in SBA Communications by 61.1% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 20,705 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,064,000 after purchasing an additional 7,853 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of SBA Communications by 238.2% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 10,875 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after buying an additional 7,659 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in SBA Communications by 500.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 369,037 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $72,375,000 after purchasing an additional 307,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. increased its stake in SBA Communications by 17.5% in the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 688,945 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $126,186,000 after buying an additional 102,464 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

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.