Empowered Funds LLC Has $8.54 Million Stake in Lamar Advertising Company $LAMR

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 11.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 67,392 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 6,793 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $8,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAMR. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter valued at $1,872,000. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Lamar Advertising by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 232,235 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,396,000 after acquiring an additional 10,265 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. boosted its position in Lamar Advertising by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 185,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,417,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Lamar Advertising by 67.8% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 34,586 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,378,000 after acquiring an additional 13,974 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 771,959 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $97,715,000 after purchasing an additional 27,907 shares during the period. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamar Advertising Stock Down 0.4%

LAMR stock opened at $159.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.51 and a beta of 1.19. Lamar Advertising Company has a 1 year low of $113.66 and a 1 year high of $166.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.18. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 55.53%. The firm had revenue of $528.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $522.86 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising Company will post 8.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is currently 118.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAMR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $145.00 price target on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.67.

Lamar Advertising Profile

Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ: LAMR) is one of North America’s largest outdoor advertising firms, specializing in out-of-home media solutions. Since its founding in 1902, the company has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to offer a broad portfolio of advertising products. Its core business centers on billboard advertising, encompassing traditional static billboards and a rapidly expanding network of digital displays. These assets enable advertisers to reach consumers with high-impact messaging along highways, in urban centers, and at high-traffic intersections.

In addition to highway billboards, Lamar offers a variety of supplemental out-of-home formats, including transit advertising on buses and shelters, and logo signage at travel plazas and gas stations.