Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Now Covered by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $132.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on LAMR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. StockNews.com upgraded Lamar Advertising from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup downgraded Lamar Advertising from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $122.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $125.00.

Lamar Advertising Stock Up 1.5 %

Lamar Advertising stock opened at $133.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Lamar Advertising has a fifty-two week low of $77.21 and a fifty-two week high of $134.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $121.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.45. The firm has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.42 and a beta of 1.52.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.67). Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 42.18% and a net margin of 23.34%. The business had revenue of $565.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. Lamar Advertising’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is 114.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAMR. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in Lamar Advertising by 144.4% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.