SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $268.00.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on SBA Communications from $285.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Barclays lowered their price target on SBA Communications from $260.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded SBA Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 7th.

SBA Communications Stock Performance

Shares of SBAC opened at $196.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.21 billion, a PE ratio of 42.57, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $210.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.51. SBA Communications has a twelve month low of $185.23 and a twelve month high of $263.08.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The technology company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $675.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $682.11 million. SBA Communications had a net margin of 18.51% and a negative return on equity of 9.70%. SBA Communications’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.11 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that SBA Communications will post 12.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. This is a boost from SBA Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.03%.

Insider Activity at SBA Communications

In other news, Director Mary S. Chan sold 1,977 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.99, for a total transaction of $430,966.23. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,007,549.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of SBA Communications

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in SBA Communications by 140.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,143,877 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $429,140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252,764 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in SBA Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $286,079,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in SBA Communications by 115.3% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,358,037 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $271,838,000 after purchasing an additional 727,163 shares during the last quarter. Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY bought a new position in SBA Communications in the third quarter valued at about $92,725,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in SBA Communications by 111.8% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 734,795 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $186,410,000 after purchasing an additional 387,855 shares during the last quarter. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.