Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Acquires 3,468 Shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 53.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,968 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,468 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $1,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LAMR. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 106.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 17,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,009,000 after purchasing an additional 8,912 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 25.7% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 23.6% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 42,320 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,916,000 after acquiring an additional 8,070 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 10.9% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 51,280 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,130,000 after acquiring an additional 5,052 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 11.4% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,006 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Price Performance

Shares of LAMR opened at $111.44 on Monday. Lamar Advertising has a 52-week low of $77.21 and a 52-week high of $121.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.52. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $113.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.63. The firm has a market cap of $11.37 billion, a PE ratio of 22.98 and a beta of 1.50.

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

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.67%. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is 107.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamar Advertising

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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