Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Takes $241,000 Position in Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR)

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 2,270 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Lamar Advertising in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Lamar Advertising by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 493 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Lamar Advertising in the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Lamar Advertising by 249.0% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 705 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 236.7% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,256 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Lamar Advertising news, CFO Jay Lecoryelle Johnson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,189,700. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 14.98% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Stock Down 3.0 %

LAMR stock traded down $3.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $115.08. The stock had a trading volume of 641,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 419,358. The company has a market capitalization of $11.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $114.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.69. Lamar Advertising has a one year low of $77.21 and a one year high of $121.99.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.71). The business had revenue of $498.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $496.98 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 23.49% and a return on equity of 41.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.52%. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 107.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.