Retirement Systems of Alabama Increases Stake in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,924 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 168 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.10% of Lamar Advertising worth $13,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LAMR. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new stake in Lamar Advertising during the 4th quarter valued at about $462,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 420,640 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,209,000 after purchasing an additional 12,827 shares in the last quarter. JB Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 29,016 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Willis Investment Counsel purchased a new position in Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter worth approximately $369,000. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 4,483 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamar Advertising Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ LAMR opened at $127.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. The business’s 50 day moving average is $125.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.69. Lamar Advertising has a 52-week low of $102.10 and a 52-week high of $139.88. The firm has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55 and a beta of 1.51.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.73). Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.46% and a return on equity of 42.58%. The firm had revenue of $564.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $568.91 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. Lamar Advertising’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.49 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LAMR. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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 raised their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.