Reaves W H & Co. Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Key Points

• Reaves W H & Co. Inc. acquired 25,000 shares of Lamar Advertising Company, valued at approximately $2.84 million, as part of their first-quarter investment strategy.
• Lamar Advertising's quarterly earnings exceeded analyst expectations, with reported earnings of $1.60 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.55 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 5.0%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 150.49%.

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 25,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $2,844,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 100.8% during the 1st quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 41,039 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,669,000 after purchasing an additional 20,602 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 0.3% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45,464 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,173,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Lamar Advertising in the first quarter valued at $3,991,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Lamar Advertising by 376.2% during the 1st quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. now owns 4,986 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $567,000 after buying an additional 3,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 1.8% in the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 29,011 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,301,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on LAMR shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Lamar Advertising from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $114.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lamar Advertising presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $136.00.

Lamar Advertising Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ LAMR traded up $0.19 during trading on Thursday, hitting $124.75. The stock had a trading volume of 986,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 417,157. The company has a market capitalization of $12.77 billion, a PE ratio of 30.28 and a beta of 1.36. Lamar Advertising Company has a 12 month low of $99.84 and a 12 month high of $139.88. The company's 50-day moving average price is $122.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.57.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $505.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $509.72 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 37.62% and a net margin of 19.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising Company will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 5.0%. Lamar Advertising's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 150.49%.

Lamar Advertising Company 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.