Short Interest in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Grows By 19.5%

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,680,000 shares, an increase of 19.5% from the February 28th total of 3,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 586,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.3 days. Currently, 4.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on LAMR. Citigroup raised their target price on Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. 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 company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $134.60.

Lamar Advertising Trading Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ LAMR traded up $2.58 on Wednesday, hitting $115.94. 644,858 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 450,739. Lamar Advertising has a twelve month low of $108.80 and a twelve month high of $139.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $121.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.84 and a beta of 1.53. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $579.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $583.19 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 16.40%. Analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $1.55 dividend. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.35%. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is presently 175.64%.

Institutional Trading of Lamar Advertising

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 106.7% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 277 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 46.6% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Lamar Advertising by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.