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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on SBAC. Barclays cut their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of SBA Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a neutral rating and a $212.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $253.00 to $251.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $237.92.

SBA Communications Trading Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ SBAC opened at $238.51 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $215.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.97. SBA Communications has a 12-month low of $183.64 and a 12-month high of $258.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.67.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $660.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $665.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.24 earnings per share. SBA Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that SBA Communications will post 12.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.86%.

Insider Activity at SBA Communications

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey Stoops sold 49,765 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.01, for a total transaction of $11,048,327.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 109,583 shares in the company, valued at $24,328,521.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other SBA Communications news, Chairman Jeffrey Stoops sold 49,765 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were 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 owns 109,583 shares in the company, valued at $24,328,521.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director George R. Krouse, Jr. sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.58, for a total transaction of $71,363.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,775,084.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SBAC. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of SBA Communications by 54.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,300,157 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $931,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,524,302 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of SBA Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $286,079,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SBA Communications during the second quarter worth about $134,738,000. Long Pond Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of SBA Communications during the second quarter worth about $83,687,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 387,855 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.