Short Interest in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) Rises By 25.5%

SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,380,000 shares, an increase of 25.5% from the October 31st total of 1,100,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 875,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

SBA Communications Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ SBAC traded down $2.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $226.25. 351,601 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 905,552. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $232.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $218.45. The firm has a market cap of $24.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.68. SBA Communications has a fifty-two week low of $183.64 and a fifty-two week high of $258.76.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The technology company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.17 by ($0.77). The business had revenue of $667.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $669.29 million. SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 13.13% and a net margin of 25.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.34 EPS. Analysts anticipate that SBA Communications will post 12.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on SBA Communications from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $230.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on SBA Communications from $232.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised SBA Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Donald Day sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.86, for a total transaction of $364,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,998 shares in the company, valued at $1,213,814.28. The trade was a 23.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SBA Communications

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in SBA Communications by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,643,527 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,117,697,000 after buying an additional 81,566 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,973,867 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $387,470,000 after acquiring an additional 233,179 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in SBA Communications by 5.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,269,786 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $305,637,000 after purchasing an additional 62,555 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 2,821.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,216,094 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $292,714,000 after buying an additional 1,174,469 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 15.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,190,288 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $233,654,000 after acquiring an additional 159,433 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

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.