SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:SBAC) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $175.39 and last traded at $174.8720, with a volume of 282500 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $182.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBAC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $233.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on SBA Communications from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, SBA Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.17.

SBA Communications Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $192.77. The company has a market cap of $18.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.86.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.25 by $0.22. SBA Communications had a net margin of 36.40% and a negative return on equity of 20.81%. The company had revenue of $719.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.47 earnings per share. SBA Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that SBA Communications Corporation will post 12.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This is a boost from SBA Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. SBA Communications’s payout ratio is 52.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SBA Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MAI Capital Management increased its position in SBA Communications by 7.9% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 680 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in SBA Communications by 2.4% during the third quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,237 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of SBA Communications by 3.6% during the third quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Choreo LLC lifted its position in SBA Communications by 1.1% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 6,047 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of SBA Communications by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 1,532 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

About SBA Communications

SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: SBAC) is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops wireless communications infrastructure. Its core business is the leasing of space on communications towers, rooftop sites and other wireless structures to mobile network operators, broadband providers and other wireless service customers. The company also provides site development, construction and ongoing site management services to support the deployment and operation of wireless networks.

In addition to traditional macro towers, SBA offers a range of infrastructure solutions designed for dense urban and suburban markets, including small cells, distributed antenna systems (DAS) and fiber backhaul and transport services.