SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $257.23.

SBAC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on SBA Communications from $251.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on SBA Communications from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on SBA Communications from $232.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. KeyCorp increased their price target on SBA Communications from $230.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on SBA Communications from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th.

SBA Communications Stock Performance

Shares of SBAC opened at $219.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.62, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $235.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $216.94. SBA Communications has a 52 week low of $183.64 and a 52 week high of $258.76.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The technology company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.17 by ($0.77). The firm had revenue of $667.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $669.29 million. SBA Communications had a net margin of 25.76% and a negative return on equity of 13.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that SBA Communications will post 12.56 EPS for the current year.

SBA Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. SBA Communications’s payout ratio is presently 61.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SBA Communications

In other SBA Communications news, EVP Donald Day sold 1,500 shares of SBA Communications stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.86, for a total value of $364,290.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,213,814.28. This trade represents a 23.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SBA Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SBAC. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SBA Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SBA Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of SBA Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of SBA Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of SBA Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

About SBA Communications

SBA Communications Corporation is a leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure including towers, buildings, rooftops, distributed antenna systems (DAS) and small cells. With a portfolio of more than 39,000 communications sites throughout the Americas, Africa and in Asia, SBA is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol SBAC.