Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Stock Price

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $132.00 to $124.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

LAMR has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.40.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LAMR opened at $128.25 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65 and a beta of 1.52. Lamar Advertising has a twelve month low of $94.71 and a twelve month high of $139.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $131.93 and a 200-day moving average of $123.19. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by ($0.73). Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 42.58% and a net margin of 23.46%. The company had revenue of $564.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.91 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.04 EPS. Lamar Advertising’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamar Advertising

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 25.6% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Lamar Advertising by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,929 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 31.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 16,085 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,921,000 after purchasing an additional 3,829 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 79.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 123,138 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,703,000 after purchasing an additional 54,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,923,000 after purchasing an additional 2,912 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

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.