Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

LAMR has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Lamar Advertising from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

LAMR stock traded up $1.64 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $116.72. 438,132 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 419,824. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company has a market cap of $11.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.97 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.23. Lamar Advertising has a 1-year low of $77.21 and a 1-year high of $121.99.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.71). Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.29% and a return on equity of 41.86%. The business had revenue of $498.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $594,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,189,700. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 14.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 76,647 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,003 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,770,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $210,889,000 after acquiring an additional 7,794 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, Markel Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 24.2% in the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 77,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,195,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

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.