Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,580,000 shares, a growth of 24.0% from the October 15th total of 2,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 384,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAMR. IHT Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Lamar Advertising in the 3rd quarter valued at $286,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.9% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,248,660 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $567,632,000 after acquiring an additional 119,068 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 5.0% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 626,950 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $83,708,000 after acquiring an additional 29,683 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 17.4% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 3,472 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Lamar Advertising in the third quarter valued at about $1,345,000. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamar Advertising Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ LAMR traded down $1.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $125.62. The stock had a trading volume of 174,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 406,748. The company has a market cap of $12.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.43 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.56. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $131.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.22. Lamar Advertising has a fifty-two week low of $95.83 and a fifty-two week high of $139.88.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.73). The firm had revenue of $564.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.91 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.46% and a return on equity of 42.58%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.04 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a $1.40 dividend. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.46%. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is 112.00%.

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.