Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $160.00 and last traded at $159.9650, with a volume of 8088 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $158.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on LAMR. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Lamar Advertising in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $145.00 price objective on Lamar Advertising in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.00.

Lamar Advertising Trading Up 0.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.95. The company has a market cap of $16.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.54 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Lamar Advertising Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamar Advertising

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 12,278.7% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,147,876 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,298,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,603 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter worth $104,705,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 123.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,475,525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $177,152,000 after purchasing an additional 816,217 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 97.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 991,990 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $121,439,000 after purchasing an additional 490,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Lamar Advertising by 23.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,629,554 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $199,490,000 after purchasing an additional 314,235 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lamar Advertising

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.