Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $134.00.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LAMR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup raised shares of Lamar Advertising from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $114.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

Shares of Lamar Advertising stock remained flat at $121.30 during trading on Friday. The company had a trading volume of 359,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 518,458. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $113.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.62. The stock has a market cap of $12.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. Lamar Advertising has a twelve month low of $99.84 and a twelve month high of $139.88.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.06. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 16.40%. The firm had revenue of $505.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $509.72 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Lamar Advertising's dividend payout ratio is presently 150.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 453.6% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,660,664 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $323,900,000 after buying an additional 2,180,011 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,527,270 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $672,890,000 after acquiring an additional 545,606 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised 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 in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Lamar Advertising by 108.3% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 905,368 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $110,220,000 after purchasing an additional 470,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Lamar Advertising in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,255,000. Institutional investors own 93.78% of the company's stock.

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.