SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:SBAC) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Nineteen analysts give SBA Communications an average recommendation of Hold (11 hold, 7 buy, 1 strong buy) with a 12‑month average price target of $233.63.
• SBA beat Q4 EPS expectations ($3.47 vs. $3.25) but slightly missed revenue ($719.6M vs. $725.8M); shares trade near $213 with a one‑year range of $162.41–$245.16 and a market cap of $22.54B.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 ($5.00 annualized, ~2.3% yield) and about 97.35% of the stock is held by institutional investors.

SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:SBAC - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the nineteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $233.6316.

SBAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of SBA Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a "hold" rating and a $193.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of SBA Communications in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $218.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of SBA Communications in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th.

SBA Communications Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBAC opened at $213.10 on Wednesday. SBA Communications has a 1 year low of $162.41 and a 1 year high of $245.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.88. The business's 50 day moving average price is $196.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.86.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.25 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $719.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.80 million. SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 36.40%.The firm's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.47 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that SBA Communications will post 11.49 earnings per share for the current year.

SBA Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This is a boost from SBA Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. SBA Communications's payout ratio is 52.47%.

Institutional Trading of SBA Communications

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in SBA Communications by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 202,452 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $39,160,000 after purchasing an additional 22,293 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in SBA Communications by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,245,399 shares of the technology company's stock worth $241,234,000 after purchasing an additional 63,323 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in SBA Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $17,915,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in SBA Communications by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 38,988 shares of the technology company's stock worth $7,538,000 after purchasing an additional 8,404 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in SBA Communications by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,855,329 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $358,728,000 after purchasing an additional 366,491 shares in the last quarter. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About SBA Communications

SBA Communications Corporation NASDAQ: SBAC is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops wireless communications infrastructure. Its core business is the leasing of space on communications towers, rooftop sites and other wireless structures to mobile network operators, broadband providers and other wireless service customers. The company also provides site development, construction and ongoing site management services to support the deployment and operation of wireless networks.

In addition to traditional macro towers, SBA offers a range of infrastructure solutions designed for dense urban and suburban markets, including small cells, distributed antenna systems (DAS) and fiber backhaul and transport services.

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