Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Receives “Neutral” Rating from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $153.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lamar Advertising from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Lamar Advertising from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $145.00 price target on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Lamar Advertising in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamar Advertising presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.67.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LAMR opened at $158.91 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33. Lamar Advertising has a twelve month low of $113.66 and a twelve month high of $164.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $154.06 and a 200-day moving average of $140.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.32 and a beta of 1.19.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.18. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 55.53%. The business had revenue of $528.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $522.86 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 8.41 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lamar Advertising

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,872,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 323.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 75,297 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,531,000 after purchasing an additional 57,520 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 185,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,417,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 232,235 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,396,000 after purchasing an additional 10,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic purchased a new stake in Lamar Advertising in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,025,000. Institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

About Lamar Advertising

Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ: LAMR) is one of North America’s largest outdoor advertising firms, specializing in out-of-home media solutions. Since its founding in 1902, the company has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to offer a broad portfolio of advertising products. Its core business centers on billboard advertising, encompassing traditional static billboards and a rapidly expanding network of digital displays. These assets enable advertisers to reach consumers with high-impact messaging along highways, in urban centers, and at high-traffic intersections.

In addition to highway billboards, Lamar offers a variety of supplemental out-of-home formats, including transit advertising on buses and shelters, and logo signage at travel plazas and gas stations.