Willis Investment Counsel Acquires 6,478 Shares of Lamar Advertising Company $LAMR

Willis Investment Counsel grew its holdings in Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ:LAMR) by 113.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,211 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,478 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Lamar Advertising were worth $1,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lamar Advertising by 466.7% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 204 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Lamar Advertising during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Lamar Advertising in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Lamar Advertising in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Lamar Advertising during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. 93.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lamar Advertising Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Lamar Advertising stock opened at $133.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $128.94 and a 200 day moving average of $125.54. The company has a market capitalization of $13.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.24 and a beta of 1.23. Lamar Advertising Company has a fifty-two week low of $99.84 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63.

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

Lamar Advertising Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd were issued a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 22nd. Lamar Advertising’s payout ratio is 145.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Lamar Advertising from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lamar Advertising in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Lamar Advertising from $122.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Lamar Advertising in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.00.

Lamar Advertising Profile

Lamar Advertising Company (NASDAQ: LAMR) is one of North America’s largest outdoor advertising firms, specializing in out-of-home media solutions. Since its founding in 1902, the company has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to offer a broad portfolio of advertising products. Its core business centers on billboard advertising, encompassing traditional static billboards and a rapidly expanding network of digital displays. These assets enable advertisers to reach consumers with high-impact messaging along highways, in urban centers, and at high-traffic intersections.

In addition to highway billboards, Lamar offers a variety of supplemental out-of-home formats, including transit advertising on buses and shelters, and logo signage at travel plazas and gas stations.