By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
SBA Communications Co. (NASDAQ:SBAC – Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,860,000 shares, a growth of 45.3% from the December 15th total of 1,280,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 899,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.
Insider Buying and Selling at SBA Communications
In other news, EVP Donald Day sold 2,321 shares of SBA Communications stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.43, for a total transaction of $472,161.03. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,998 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,743.14. This trade represents a 31.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark R. Ciarfella sold 3,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.33, for a total transaction of $795,249.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 33,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,534,796.04. This represents a 9.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in SBA Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in SBA Communications in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in SBA Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in SBA Communications by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of SBA Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors own 97.35% of the company’s stock.
SBA Communications Trading Down 0.3 %
NASDAQ:SBAC traded down $0.57 on Friday, hitting $203.61. The company had a trading volume of 697,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 859,807. SBA Communications has a 52 week low of $183.64 and a 52 week high of $252.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $211.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $221.07.
SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The technology company reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.17 by ($0.77). The firm 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%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that SBA Communications will post 12.56 EPS for the current year.
SBA Communications Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. SBA Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.83%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages recently issued reports on SBAC. Raymond James boosted their price target on SBA Communications from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com downgraded SBA Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on SBA Communications from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target (down previously from $260.00) on shares of SBA Communications in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $228.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.77.
Check Out Our Latest Report on SBA Communications
About SBA Communications
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.
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