SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of SBA Communications from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on SBA Communications from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $240.00 to $236.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on SBA Communications in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a neutral rating and a $212.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on SBA Communications from $253.00 to $251.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SBA Communications currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $241.67.

SBA Communications Price Performance

Shares of SBAC traded down $1.41 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $215.48. The stock had a trading volume of 230,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 963,630. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.49. SBA Communications has a 1-year low of $183.64 and a 1-year high of $258.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.65.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.07 by ($0.56). The business had revenue of $660.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $665.21 million. SBA Communications had a net margin of 19.22% and a negative return on equity of 9.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.24 EPS. Equities analysts predict that SBA Communications will post 12.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey Stoops sold 49,765 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.01, for a total value of $11,048,327.65. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 109,583 shares in the company, valued at $24,328,521.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in SBA Communications by 54.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,300,157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $931,844,000 after buying an additional 1,524,302 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of SBA Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $286,079,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 111.8% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 734,795 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $186,410,000 after purchasing an additional 387,855 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in SBA Communications by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,973,867 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $387,470,000 after buying an additional 233,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in SBA Communications by 144.7% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 359,736 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $77,955,000 after buying an additional 212,739 shares during the last quarter. 97.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.