Bessemer Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) by 106.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,061 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,767 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in SBA Communications were worth $3,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legacy Trust bought a new position in SBA Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,256,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 191.3% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 25,828 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,597,000 after acquiring an additional 16,962 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 707,743 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $179,547,000 after purchasing an additional 19,462 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in SBA Communications in the 4th quarter worth $7,422,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in SBA Communications by 596.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 225,128 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $57,113,000 after purchasing an additional 192,791 shares during the period. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SBA Communications Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBAC traded up $4.32 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $209.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 182,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 933,256. SBA Communications Co. has a 12-month low of $183.64 and a 12-month high of $258.76. The firm has a market cap of $22.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $197.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $207.79.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $657.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $671.08 million. SBA Communications had a net margin of 20.61% and a negative return on equity of 10.75%. The business’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that SBA Communications Co. will post 12.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SBAC. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded SBA Communications from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on SBA Communications from $250.00 to $235.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $276.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $241.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of SBA Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.31.

SBA Communications 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.