SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on SBAC. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on SBA Communications from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on SBA Communications from $290.00 to $260.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays decreased their price objective on SBA Communications from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on SBA Communications from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on SBA Communications in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a neutral rating and a $212.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $241.67.

SBA Communications Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of SBA Communications stock traded down $3.98 on Tuesday, hitting $212.91. The stock had a trading volume of 735,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,119,476. SBA Communications has a 52-week low of $183.64 and a 52-week high of $258.76. The stock has a market cap of $22.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $203.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.35.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by ($0.56). SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 19.22%. The company had revenue of $660.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $665.21 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that SBA Communications will post 12.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. SBA Communications’s payout ratio is currently 76.86%.

Insider Activity at SBA Communications

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey Stoops sold 49,765 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.01, for a total value of $11,048,327.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 109,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,328,521.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SBA Communications

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SBAC. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in SBA Communications by 54.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,300,157 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $931,844,000 after buying an additional 1,524,302 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in SBA Communications during the fourth quarter worth $286,079,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in SBA Communications by 111.8% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 734,795 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $186,410,000 after buying an additional 387,855 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in SBA Communications by 13.4% during the second quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,973,867 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $387,470,000 after buying an additional 233,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in SBA Communications by 144.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 359,736 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $77,955,000 after buying an additional 212,739 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

About SBA Communications

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.