Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR) Declares Dividend Increase - $1.55 Per Share

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 19th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of 1.55 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Lamar Advertising's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40.

Lamar Advertising has increased its dividend by an average of 15.6% per year over the last three years. Lamar Advertising has a dividend payout ratio of 89.9% 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 $7.92 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 70.7%.

Lamar Advertising Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LAMR traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $121.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 736,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 507,221. The business's fifty day moving average is $124.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.31. The stock has a market cap of $12.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Lamar Advertising has a 1 year low of $107.22 and a 1 year high of $139.88.

Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ:LAMR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $579.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $583.19 million. Lamar Advertising had a return on equity of 42.58% and a net margin of 23.46%. Analysts anticipate that Lamar Advertising will post 7.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LAMR shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $132.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Lamar Advertising from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Lamar Advertising from $129.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Lamar Advertising from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Lamar Advertising from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $133.40.

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.