Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Stake in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 46.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,381 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 5,512 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners acquired a new position in Lamar Advertising during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 144.4% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 109.3% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LAMR opened at $127.15 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.22. Lamar Advertising has a twelve month low of $95.81 and a twelve 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 company has a market capitalization of $13.01 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43 and a beta of 1.52.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its quarterly 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). The company 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%. Lamar Advertising’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.40%. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is currently 112.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com cut Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamar Advertising presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.40.

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.