Lamar Advertising Company $LAMR Holdings Lifted by KBC Group NV

Key Points

• KBC Group NV sharply increased its stake in Lamar Advertising, boosting holdings by 1,940.7% in the first quarter to 47,753 shares worth about $6.0 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed but generally cautious: the stock has an average Hold rating with a consensus price target of $154.67, even as several firms raised targets.
• Lamar Advertising reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.00 versus $0.82 expected, and it paid a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, representing a 4.1% yield.

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) by 1,940.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,753 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 45,413 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $6,048,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Praxis Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Lamar Advertising by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,846 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.6% in the first quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 14,426 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,827,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 3.2% during the third quarter. Glenmede Investment Management LP now owns 2,590 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 706 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 5,540 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on LAMR. Morgan Stanley set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Lamar Advertising in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamar Advertising from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $153.00 price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $154.67.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

Shares of LAMR opened at $157.73 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $154.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.51. Lamar Advertising Company has a twelve month low of $113.66 and a twelve month high of $164.38. The firm has a market cap of $16.00 billion, a PE ratio of 29.10 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $528.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $522.86 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 55.53%. As a group, research analysts expect that Lamar Advertising Company will post 8.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Lamar Advertising's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 118.08%.

About Lamar Advertising

Lamar Advertising Company NASDAQ: LAMR is one of North America's largest outdoor advertising firms, specializing in out-of-home media solutions. Since its founding in 1902, the company has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to offer a broad portfolio of advertising products. Its core business centers on billboard advertising, encompassing traditional static billboards and a rapidly expanding network of digital displays. These assets enable advertisers to reach consumers with high-impact messaging along highways, in urban centers, and at high-traffic intersections.

In addition to highway billboards, Lamar offers a variety of supplemental out-of-home formats, including transit advertising on buses and shelters, and logo signage at travel plazas and gas stations.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.