Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $99.84 and last traded at $113.68, with a volume of 1574029 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LAMR shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.60.

Lamar Advertising Trading Up 11.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $579.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $583.19 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 30.20%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $1.55 dividend. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 175.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamar Advertising

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LAMR. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 453.6% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,660,664 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $323,900,000 after purchasing an additional 2,180,011 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,527,270 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $672,890,000 after purchasing an additional 545,606 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 108.3% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 905,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $110,220,000 after purchasing an additional 470,805 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,255,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 50.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,278,397 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $155,632,000 after purchasing an additional 428,744 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.