SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. KeyCorp increased their target price on SBA Communications from $230.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays decreased their price objective on SBA Communications from $257.00 to $254.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $251.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.46.

SBA Communications Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of SBAC stock opened at $198.69 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.34, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $210.26 and a 200 day moving average of $221.61. SBA Communications has a 52 week low of $183.64 and a 52 week high of $252.64.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The technology company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.17 by ($0.77). SBA Communications had a net margin of 25.76% and a negative return on equity of 13.13%. The company had revenue of $667.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $669.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that SBA Communications will post 12.57 earnings per share for the current year.

SBA Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 61.83%.

Insider Transactions at SBA Communications

In other news, EVP Donald Day sold 2,321 shares of SBA Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.43, for a total value of $472,161.03. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,998 shares in the company, valued at $1,016,743.14. The trade was a 31.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mark R. Ciarfella sold 3,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.33, for a total transaction of $795,249.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,534,796.04. The trade was a 9.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SBA Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in SBA Communications in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of SBA Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of SBA Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 32.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CKW Financial Group bought a new stake in SBA Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.