Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Stock Price

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $132.00 to $124.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on LAMR. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lamar Advertising presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.40.

Lamar Advertising Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Lamar Advertising stock opened at $127.15 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $131.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.22. Lamar Advertising has a 12-month low of $95.81 and a 12-month high of $139.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. The stock has a market cap of $13.01 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43 and a beta of 1.52.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.73). The firm had revenue of $564.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.91 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.46% and a return on equity of 42.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.04 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamar Advertising

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LAMR. Centersquare Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 82.8% in the first quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 621,763 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $72,031,000 after purchasing an additional 281,582 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.3% in the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 399,678 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,774,000 after acquiring an additional 8,857 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group purchased a new stake in Lamar Advertising in the second quarter valued at approximately $722,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Lamar Advertising by 13.1% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 60,442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,225,000 after purchasing an additional 6,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Lamar Advertising by 179.4% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 18,639 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,226,000 after purchasing an additional 11,967 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

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.