Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Price Target Raised to $135.00 at Morgan Stanley

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) had its price objective lifted by Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $132.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lamar Advertising has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.40.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LAMR opened at $128.25 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $131.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.19. Lamar Advertising has a 52-week low of $94.71 and a 52-week high of $139.88. The company has a market cap of $13.12 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.46% and a return on equity of 42.58%. The company had revenue of $564.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.37%. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is currently 112.00%.

Institutional Trading of Lamar Advertising

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 81.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 937,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $112,052,000 after acquiring an additional 420,311 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Lamar Advertising in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,665,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 49,140.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 285,102 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,090,000 after purchasing an additional 284,523 shares during the period. Centersquare Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 82.8% during the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 621,763 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $72,031,000 after buying an additional 281,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 148.9% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 434,563 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $58,058,000 after buying an additional 259,979 shares during the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamar Advertising Company 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.