Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $132.00, but opened at $124.01. Lamar Advertising shares last traded at $126.28, with a volume of 341,270 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LAMR shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com cut Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.40.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.54 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a fifty day moving average of $124.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.31.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.74. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 16.40%. The business had revenue of $579.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $583.19 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.09%. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamar Advertising

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 109,479 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,328,000 after acquiring an additional 26,103 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in Lamar Advertising by 175.1% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 4,385 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Lamar Advertising by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 272,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,190,000 after buying an additional 37,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sone Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,645,000. 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.