18,963 Shares in Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR) Acquired by Zions Bancorporation National Association UT

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation National Association UT has acquired 18,963 shares of Lamar Advertising Company, valued at approximately $2.16 million, indicating growing institutional interest in the stock.
• Analysts have recently upgraded their target prices for Lamar Advertising, with Citigroup moving from $114 to $135 and Morgan Stanley raising theirs from $125 to $135.
• Lamar Advertising reported a quarterly EPS of $1.60, surpassing analysts' expectations, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.55 per share, with a dividend yield of 5.4%.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 18,963 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $2,158,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the first quarter worth about $28,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lamar Advertising by 26,900.0% in the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 270 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in Lamar Advertising by 346.0% in the first quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 281 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Lamar Advertising by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 277 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Lamar Advertising in the first quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 93.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamar Advertising Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ:LAMR traded up $2.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $119.69. The company had a trading volume of 249,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 617,086. The company has a market capitalization of $12.25 billion, a PE ratio of 27.83 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $122.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.31. Lamar Advertising Company has a 52 week low of $99.84 and a 52 week high of $139.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.45, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $579.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $580.72 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 41.85% and a net margin of 19.72%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lamar Advertising Company will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. Lamar Advertising's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 144.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LAMR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Citigroup upgraded shares of Lamar Advertising from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $114.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $134.20.

Lamar Advertising 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.