SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $251.92.

SBAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Citizens Jmp upgraded SBA Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on SBA Communications from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of SBA Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of SBA Communications in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company.

SBA Communications Price Performance

Shares of SBA Communications stock opened at $229.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.13, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.83. SBA Communications has a 1 year low of $183.64 and a 1 year high of $252.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $217.30 and its 200 day moving average is $217.15.

SBA Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $1.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is an increase from SBA Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.98%.

Insider Activity at SBA Communications

In other SBA Communications news, VP Joshua Koenig sold 2,209 shares of SBA Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.18, for a total transaction of $495,213.62. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,362,790.22. The trade was a 26.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of SBA Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in SBA Communications by 352.5% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 7,346,255 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,497,167,000 after acquiring an additional 5,722,740 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in SBA Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $268,287,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in SBA Communications by 23,553.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 1,126,828 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $229,648,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122,064 shares in the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON boosted its stake in SBA Communications by 27,449.9% in the 4th quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 991,245 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $202,016,000 after purchasing an additional 987,647 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in SBA Communications by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,254,460 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,024,049,000 after buying an additional 605,872 shares in the last quarter. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About SBA Communications

SBA Communications Corporation is a leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure including towers, buildings, rooftops, distributed antenna systems (DAS) and small cells. With a portfolio of more than 39,000 communications sites throughout the Americas, Africa and in Asia, SBA is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol SBAC.