Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) to Issue Dividend Increase – $1.40 Per Share

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, August 27th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th will be given a dividend of 1.40 per share by the real estate investment trust on Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 18th. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30.

Lamar Advertising has raised its dividend by an average of 26.0% per year over the last three years. Lamar Advertising has a payout ratio of 97.9% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Equities research analysts expect Lamar Advertising to earn $8.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 65.7%.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

LAMR opened at $131.13 on Tuesday. Lamar Advertising has a twelve month low of $77.21 and a twelve month high of $131.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The stock has a market cap of $13.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s 50 day moving average is $120.40 and its 200-day moving average is $118.00.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.67). The business had revenue of $565.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $564.96 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 42.18% and a net margin of 23.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Lamar Advertising will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAMR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup cut Lamar Advertising from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lamar Advertising from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.25.

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.