Morgan Stanley Raises Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Price Target to $135.00

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

LAMR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.40.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LAMR opened at $130.04 on Monday. Lamar Advertising has a fifty-two week low of $91.20 and a fifty-two week high of $139.88. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.96. The company has a market capitalization of $13.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.41.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by ($0.73). Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.34% and a return on equity of 42.18%. The business had revenue of $564.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.04 EPS. Lamar Advertising’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is presently 112.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamar Advertising

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Lamar Advertising by 444.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 144.4% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners bought a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 109.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lamar Advertising

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.