National Bank of Canada FI Makes New $1.68 Million Investment in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

National Bank of Canada FI bought a new stake in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 13,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,680,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LAMR. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Lamar Advertising in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Lamar Advertising by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 46.6% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Lamar Advertising by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Lamar Advertising by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Lamar Advertising stock opened at $102.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.75. The stock has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.99 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Lamar Advertising has a 1-year low of $100.00 and a 1-year high of $139.88.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.74. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 30.20% and a net margin of 16.40%. The company had revenue of $579.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $583.19 million. On average, analysts expect that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $1.55 dividend. This is a positive change from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is 175.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on LAMR. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $121.76 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.60.

Lamar Advertising 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.