Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 28,382 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,034 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $3,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LAMR. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 444.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 144.4% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners bought a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 109.3% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. 93.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Shares of LAMR opened at $130.35 on Monday. Lamar Advertising has a 52-week low of $97.54 and a 52-week high of $139.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $132.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.07 and a beta of 1.52.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by ($0.73). Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 42.58% and a net margin of 23.46%. The firm had revenue of $564.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.91 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.52 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 18th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. 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 research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamar Advertising presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.40.

About Lamar Advertising

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.