AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 269,725 Shares of SBA Communications Corporation $SBAC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC has significantly increased its stake in SBA Communications Corporation by 82.9%, acquiring 269,725 additional shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately $130.9 million.
• SBA Communications reported a better-than-expected quarterly earnings per share of $3.17, exceeding analysts' estimates, and revenues reached $698.98 million, a 5.8% year-over-year increase.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.11, with an annual yield of 2.2%, set to be paid on September 18th to investors of record.

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:SBAC - Free Report) by 82.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 595,089 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 269,725 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.55% of SBA Communications worth $130,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of SBA Communications by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 250 shares of the technology company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of SBA Communications by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 880 shares of the technology company's stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its position in shares of SBA Communications by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 2,250 shares of the technology company's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 293 shares of the technology company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the technology company's stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lowered SBA Communications from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $230.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of SBA Communications in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial set a $265.00 target price on SBA Communications and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on SBA Communications from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JMP Securities set a $280.00 target price on SBA Communications and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $256.38.

SBA Communications Price Performance

NASDAQ SBAC traded up $2.57 on Friday, reaching $197.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,863,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 955,243. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $223.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.78. SBA Communications Corporation has a 1-year low of $192.55 and a 1-year high of $252.64. The company has a market cap of $21.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.80.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The technology company reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.07. SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 16.83% and a net margin of 31.19%.The firm had revenue of $698.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $670.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.29 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. SBA Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts predict that SBA Communications Corporation will post 12.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $1.11 per share. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. SBA Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.42%.

SBA Communications 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.