SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,380,000 shares, a growth of 25.5% from the October 31st total of 1,100,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 875,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

SBA Communications Trading Down 1.0 %

SBA Communications stock opened at $226.25 on Monday. SBA Communications has a 12 month low of $183.64 and a 12 month high of $258.76. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $232.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.45. The company has a market cap of $24.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.69, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.68.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The technology company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.17 by ($0.77). SBA Communications had a net margin of 25.76% and a negative return on equity of 13.13%. The firm had revenue of $667.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $669.29 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.34 EPS. SBA Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SBA Communications will post 12.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. SBA Communications’s payout ratio is 61.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SBAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on SBA Communications from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on SBA Communications from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on SBA Communications from $230.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on SBA Communications from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on SBA Communications from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at SBA Communications

In other SBA Communications news, EVP Donald Day sold 1,500 shares of SBA Communications stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.86, for a total transaction of $364,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,213,814.28. The trade was a 23.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SBA Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in SBA Communications by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,222 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in SBA Communications by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,868 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in SBA Communications by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,573 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in SBA Communications by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 5,672 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,252,000 after acquiring an additional 921 shares during the period. Finally, TCW Group Inc. bought a new stake in SBA Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,505,000. Institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

About SBA Communications

SBA Communications Corporation is a leading independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure including towers, buildings, rooftops, distributed antenna systems (DAS) and small cells. With a portfolio of more than 39,000 communications sites throughout the Americas, Africa and in Asia, SBA is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol SBAC.