Vancity Investment Management Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Lamar Advertising Company $LAMR

Vancity Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 32.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,589 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,980 shares during the quarter. Vancity Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $7,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Lamar Advertising by 12,278.7% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,147,876 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,298,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,603 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lamar Advertising during the fourth quarter worth about $104,705,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Lamar Advertising by 123.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,475,525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $177,152,000 after acquiring an additional 816,217 shares in the last quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP purchased a new stake in Lamar Advertising in the third quarter worth about $88,615,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 97.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 991,990 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $121,439,000 after purchasing an additional 490,463 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAMR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $145.00 price target on Lamar Advertising in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group set a $150.00 price objective on Lamar Advertising in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lamar Advertising from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.00.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Shares of LAMR stock opened at $149.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.61 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58. Lamar Advertising Company has a one year low of $113.66 and a one year high of $158.69. The company’s 50-day moving average is $144.93 and its 200 day moving average is $135.45.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $528.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $522.86 million. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 24.01% and a return on equity of 55.53%. Sell-side analysts expect that Lamar Advertising Company will post 8.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamar Advertising Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is presently 118.08%.

Insider Transactions at Lamar Advertising

In related news, EVP Ross Lamar Reilly sold 5,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.65, for a total value of $767,911.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,039,102.50. This represents a 27.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 15.24% of the company’s stock.

About Lamar Advertising

Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ: LAMR) is one of North America’s largest outdoor advertising firms, specializing in out-of-home media solutions. Since its founding in 1902, the company has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to offer a broad portfolio of advertising products. Its core business centers on billboard advertising, encompassing traditional static billboards and a rapidly expanding network of digital displays. These assets enable advertisers to reach consumers with high-impact messaging along highways, in urban centers, and at high-traffic intersections.

In addition to highway billboards, Lamar offers a variety of supplemental out-of-home formats, including transit advertising on buses and shelters, and logo signage at travel plazas and gas stations.