SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

SBAC has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $290.00 to $260.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $266.00 to $253.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $285.00 to $265.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $241.00 to $240.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $252.17.

SBA Communications Stock Performance

SBAC opened at $194.63 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $195.06 and a 200-day moving average of $215.39. The company has a market capitalization of $20.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.16, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.65. SBA Communications has a 1-year low of $183.64 and a 1-year high of $258.76.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $657.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $671.08 million. SBA Communications had a net margin of 20.61% and a negative return on equity of 10.75%. The company’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that SBA Communications will post 12.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. SBA Communications’s payout ratio is currently 76.86%.

Institutional Trading of SBA Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SBAC. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 12,109 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,424,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SBA Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $926,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 8.7% during the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 140,933 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,201,000 after acquiring an additional 11,310 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SBA Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 12.6% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 61,209 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,252,000 after acquiring an additional 6,829 shares during the period. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SBA Communications Company Profile

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.