Lamar Advertising Company $LAMR Holdings Trimmed by Hancock Whitney Corp

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp reduced its holdings in Lamar Advertising Company by 24.5% by selling 4,824 shares, leaving them with 14,858 shares valued at $1,691,000.
• Lamar Advertising reported earnings per share of $2.22 in its latest quarterly earnings, significantly beating analyst predictions of $1.48, alongside a revenue of $579.31 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.55 per share, with a yield of 4.8%, but has a high payout ratio of 144.19%.

Hancock Whitney Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 24.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,858 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 4,824 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $1,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LAMR. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 426.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 659,308 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $74,340,000 after acquiring an additional 533,959 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,699,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 181.7% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 363,949 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $41,410,000 after purchasing an additional 234,735 shares in the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 269.4% during the first quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 158,733 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $18,061,000 after buying an additional 115,762 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 313,629 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,181,000 after buying an additional 89,236 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamar Advertising Stock Up 1.0%

LAMR stock traded up $1.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $127.90. 88,582 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 621,966. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.09. The company has a market capitalization of $12.95 billion, a PE ratio of 29.73 and a beta of 1.38. Lamar Advertising Company has a twelve month low of $99.84 and a twelve month high of $139.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.45.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $579.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $580.72 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 19.72% and a return on equity of 41.85%. Lamar Advertising has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.090-6.11 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising Company will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 19th. Lamar Advertising's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.19%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.28, for a total value of $2,734,160.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 14.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAMR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup upgraded Lamar Advertising from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $114.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.