Essex Financial Services Inc. Boosts Position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 31.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 2,256 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $1,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LAMR. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 15,173 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,814,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising in the second quarter worth $243,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Lamar Advertising during the second quarter valued at $4,328,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Lamar Advertising during the second quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising in the second quarter worth approximately $265,000. 93.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on LAMR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup cut Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.25.

Lamar Advertising Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LAMR traded up $1.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $125.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 451,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 419,491. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $118.82 and a 200-day moving average of $116.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.83 and a beta of 1.52. Lamar Advertising has a 12-month low of $77.21 and a 12-month high of $125.89.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.67). The business had revenue of $565.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.96 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.34% and a return on equity of 42.18%. Lamar Advertising’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is currently 106.78%.

About Lamar Advertising

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.