StockNews.com Upgrades SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. JMP Securities initiated coverage on SBA Communications in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of SBA Communications in a report on Monday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $230.00 price target (down from $260.00) on shares of SBA Communications in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.85.

SBA Communications Price Performance

SBA Communications stock opened at $216.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $211.04 and a 200-day moving average of $219.68. The company has a market cap of $23.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.74. SBA Communications has a one year low of $183.64 and a one year high of $252.64.

SBA Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $1.11 per share. This is a boost from SBA Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at SBA Communications

In related news, VP Joshua Koenig sold 2,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.18, for a total value of $495,213.62. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,362,790.22. This represents a 26.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SBA Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SBAC. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 174,818 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,628,000 after buying an additional 1,505 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in SBA Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $7,452,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in SBA Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $10,762,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its position in shares of SBA Communications by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 2,775 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 68,763 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $14,014,000 after purchasing an additional 4,330 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

SBA Communications Company Profile

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.