SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) Increases Dividend to $1.11 Per Share

SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 24th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of 1.11 per share by the technology company on Thursday, March 27th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. This is a positive change from SBA Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98.

SBA Communications has increased its dividend by an average of 19.1% annually over the last three years. SBA Communications has a dividend payout ratio of 42.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect SBA Communications to earn $12.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.1%.

SBA Communications Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of SBA Communications stock opened at $212.84 on Tuesday. SBA Communications has a 12 month low of $183.64 and a 12 month high of $252.64. The stock has a market cap of $22.89 billion, a PE ratio of 33.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.38.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The technology company reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $1.39. SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 13.13% and a net margin of 25.76%. Analysts expect that SBA Communications will post 12.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mark R. Ciarfella sold 3,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.33, for a total value of $795,249.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,534,796.04. This trade represents a 9.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Donald Day sold 2,321 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.43, for a total transaction of $472,161.03. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of SBA Communications in a report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered SBA Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $251.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $254.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, SBA Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.00.

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.