Short Interest in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Expands By 21.7%

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,080,000 shares, an increase of 21.7% from the February 13th total of 2,530,000 shares. Currently, 3.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 510,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.0 days.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LAMR opened at $114.75 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. The company has a market capitalization of $11.75 billion, a PE ratio of 32.51 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.51. Lamar Advertising has a twelve month low of $108.80 and a twelve month high of $139.88.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.74. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 16.40%. The company had revenue of $579.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $583.19 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 175.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lamar Advertising

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its stake in Lamar Advertising by 453.6% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,660,664 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $323,900,000 after purchasing an additional 2,180,011 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 45.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,974,848 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $263,840,000 after acquiring an additional 617,356 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,527,270 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $672,890,000 after acquiring an additional 545,606 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 108.3% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 905,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $110,220,000 after acquiring an additional 470,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lamar Advertising during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,255,000. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LAMR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.60.

Lamar Advertising Company Profile

Lamar Advertising Company operates as an outdoor advertising company in the United States and Canada. The company owns and operates billboards, logo signs, and transit advertising displays, as well as rents space for advertising on billboards, buses, shelters, benches, logo plates, and in airport terminals.