Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Makes New $3.64 Million Investment in Lamar Advertising Company $LAMR

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 30,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $3,641,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LAMR. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in shares of Lamar Advertising during the second quarter valued at $141,931,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lamar Advertising in the second quarter worth about $116,240,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lamar Advertising by 123.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,475,525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $177,152,000 after purchasing an additional 816,217 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lamar Advertising by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,344,637 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $284,577,000 after purchasing an additional 510,025 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Lamar Advertising by 181.7% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 363,949 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,410,000 after purchasing an additional 234,735 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.78% of the company’s stock.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LAMR opened at $126.96 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.92. Lamar Advertising Company has a fifty-two week low of $99.84 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $12.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.80 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.06. Lamar Advertising had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 43.02%. The firm had revenue of $585.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $584.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lamar Advertising Company will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamar Advertising Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd will be given a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Lamar Advertising’s dividend payout ratio is currently 145.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAMR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $122.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.75.

Lamar Advertising Company 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.