J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,724 Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,724 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAMR. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 1.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 12,011 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 444.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 84.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,970 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,274 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.2% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the third quarter worth approximately $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of LAMR stock opened at $121.91 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $124.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.31. Lamar Advertising has a 1-year low of $107.22 and a 1-year high of $139.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.48 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $579.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $583.19 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 42.58% and a net margin of 23.46%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.55 dividend. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.09%. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is 112.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped 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, November 11th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com cut Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamar Advertising has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.40.

Lamar Advertising 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.