Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Buys New Shares in SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in shares of SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 20,000 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,814,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBAC. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $292,714,000 after acquiring an additional 1,174,469 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new position in shares of SBA Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $134,738,000. Long Pond Capital LP acquired a new stake in SBA Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $83,687,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in SBA Communications by 500.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 369,037 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $72,375,000 after purchasing an additional 307,530 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on SBA Communications from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $251.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of SBA Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on SBA Communications from $232.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, SBA Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at SBA Communications

In other news, EVP Donald Day sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.86, for a total transaction of $364,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,213,814.28. This trade represents a 23.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

SBA Communications Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ SBAC opened at $219.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $234.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $216.97. SBA Communications Co. has a 12 month low of $183.64 and a 12 month high of $258.76. The company has a market cap of $23.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.68, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.68.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $667.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $669.29 million. SBA Communications had a net margin of 25.76% and a negative return on equity of 13.13%. SBA Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that SBA Communications Co. will post 12.56 earnings per share for the current year.

SBA Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. SBA Communications’s payout ratio is presently 61.83%.

SBA Communications 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.