Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Lamar Advertising Company has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from six brokerages, with three analysts suggesting hold ratings and three recommending buy.
• The company reported a Q2 EPS of $2.22, surpassing analyst expectations, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.55 per share with a 5.0% yield.
• Notably, insider activity included the CFO selling 22,000 shares for approximately $2.73 million at an average price of $124.28 per share.

Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $134.20.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, 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 research report on Monday, August 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lamar Advertising news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 22,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.28, for a total transaction of $2,734,160.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 14.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamar Advertising

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,344,637 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $284,577,000 after purchasing an additional 510,025 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 123.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,475,525 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $177,152,000 after purchasing an additional 816,217 shares in the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 1,338,419 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $162,431,000 after purchasing an additional 26,893 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,299,419 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $157,697,000 after purchasing an additional 5,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,282,892 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $145,967,000 after purchasing an additional 4,495 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamar Advertising Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:LAMR opened at $123.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.45. Lamar Advertising has a 1-year low of $99.84 and a 1-year high of $139.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.57.

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

Lamar Advertising Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 19th were given a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 19th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Lamar Advertising's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.19%.

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.

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