Ethic Inc. Lowers Stake in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Ethic Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,901 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 558 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $1,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 106.7% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 277 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Lamar Advertising by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, 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 note on Friday, February 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.60.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LAMR opened at $118.89 on Wednesday. Lamar Advertising has a 12 month low of $99.84 and a 12 month high of $139.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $112.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.99. The company has a market cap of $12.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68 and a beta of 1.38.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 30.20%. The firm had revenue of $505.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $509.72 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.21%. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 150.49%.

Lamar Advertising 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.