SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Shares of SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:SBAC – Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Friday. The stock had previously closed at $170.01, but opened at $178.14. SBA Communications shares last traded at $180.7980, with a volume of 305,870 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on SBAC. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of SBA Communications in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $245.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of SBA Communications from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $220.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $271.00 price target on shares of SBA Communications in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of SBA Communications from a “market perform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $227.69.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on SBA Communications

SBA Communications Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $19.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.80.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $715.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $706.01 million. SBA Communications had a net margin of 34.51% and a negative return on equity of 20.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that SBA Communications Corporation will post 11.4 EPS for the current year.

SBA Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 20th. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director George R. Krouse, Jr. sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.67, for a total transaction of $54,801.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,512 shares in the company, valued at $1,554,887.04. The trade was a 3.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SBA Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 47.8% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,615,054 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $277,967,000 after acquiring an additional 522,442 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,612,785 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $277,567,000 after purchasing an additional 46,620 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor acquired a new position in SBA Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $228,367,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in SBA Communications by 41.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,005,366 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $173,033,000 after purchasing an additional 295,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in SBA Communications by 7.1% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 672,105 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $115,673,000 after purchasing an additional 44,586 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

About SBA Communications

(Get Free Report)

SBA Communications Corporation is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops wireless communications infrastructure. Its portfolio primarily includes communications towers, rooftops, small-cell networks and distributed antenna systems used by wireless service providers, government agencies and other communications customers.

The company generates revenue mainly by leasing antenna space and related infrastructure to tenants, who install equipment used to provide wireless voice and data services.

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