Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Short Interest Down 11.1% in March

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,090,000 shares, a decline of 11.1% from the March 15th total of 2,350,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 418,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $594,850.00. Following the completion of 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. 14.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LAMR. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 21,038 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,236,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,129 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 9,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 4,606 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank increased its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,924 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $842,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

Shares of LAMR opened at $111.20 on Tuesday. Lamar Advertising has a twelve month low of $77.21 and a twelve month high of $121.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $113.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.49). The business had revenue of $555.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $549.84 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.49% and a return on equity of 41.88%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.68%. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LAMR shares. StockNews.com raised Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lamar Advertising from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th.

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.