Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Given New $126.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) had its price target reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $129.00 to $126.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

LAMR has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.40.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

LAMR opened at $121.91 on Friday. Lamar Advertising has a 1-year low of $107.22 and a 1-year high of $139.88. The stock has a market cap of $12.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.38 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $579.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $583.19 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 42.58% and a net margin of 23.46%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.09%. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the third quarter valued at $43,665,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,497,702 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $200,093,000 after buying an additional 90,933 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 19,961.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 110,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,741,000 after buying an additional 109,790 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 51,503 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,017,000 after acquiring an additional 14,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 96.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 97,498 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,026,000 after acquiring an additional 47,746 shares during the period. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.