SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $254.92.

A number of research firms recently commented on SBAC. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on SBA Communications from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $228.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $232.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on SBA Communications from $236.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th.

SBA Communications Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBAC opened at $199.71 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $215.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.17. The company has a market cap of $21.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.69. SBA Communications has a one year low of $183.64 and a one year high of $252.64.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The technology company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.17 by ($0.77). The business had revenue of $667.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $669.29 million. SBA Communications had a negative return on equity of 13.13% and a net margin of 25.76%. SBA Communications’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that SBA Communications will post 12.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. SBA Communications’s payout ratio is currently 61.83%.

Insider Transactions at SBA Communications

In related news, EVP Donald Day sold 2,321 shares of SBA Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.43, for a total transaction of $472,161.03. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,998 shares in the company, valued at $1,016,743.14. The trade was a 31.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark R. Ciarfella sold 3,545 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.33, for a total value of $795,249.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,534,796.04. This trade represents a 9.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SBA Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of SBA Communications by 2,821.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,216,094 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $292,714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174,469 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in SBA Communications by 377.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 886,384 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $213,353,000 after acquiring an additional 700,791 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in SBA Communications in the second quarter worth $134,738,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 16.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,254,460 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,024,049,000 after acquiring an additional 605,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Long Pond Capital LP bought a new position in shares of SBA Communications during the second quarter valued at $83,687,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

About SBA Communications

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.