SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Given New $225.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $225.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on SBAC. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $275.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $233.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of SBA Communications in a report on Friday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.95.

SBA Communications Stock Performance

Shares of SBAC opened at $218.46 on Thursday. SBA Communications has a twelve month low of $162.41 and a twelve month high of $245.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $190.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $191.52. The firm has a market cap of $23.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.88.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.25 by $0.22. SBA Communications had a net margin of 36.40% and a negative return on equity of 20.81%. The firm had revenue of $719.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that SBA Communications will post 12.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from SBA Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 52.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SBA Communications

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in SBA Communications by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,245,399 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $241,234,000 after buying an additional 63,323 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in SBA Communications by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 202,452 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,160,000 after buying an additional 22,293 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in SBA Communications by 27.5% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 38,988 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,538,000 after buying an additional 8,404 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in SBA Communications by 24.6% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,855,329 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $358,728,000 after buying an additional 366,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in SBA Communications during the fourth quarter worth $17,915,000. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About SBA Communications

SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: SBAC) is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops wireless communications infrastructure. Its core business is the leasing of space on communications towers, rooftop sites and other wireless structures to mobile network operators, broadband providers and other wireless service customers. The company also provides site development, construction and ongoing site management services to support the deployment and operation of wireless networks.

In addition to traditional macro towers, SBA offers a range of infrastructure solutions designed for dense urban and suburban markets, including small cells, distributed antenna systems (DAS) and fiber backhaul and transport services.