Delighting its shareholders, Lamar Advertising Company LAMR declared a quarterly cash dividend of 75 cents per share, reflecting a hike of 8.7% form the prior dividend of 69 cents. The increased dividend will be paid on Mar 3Array, to shareholders of the company’s class A and class B common stock as of Mar Array6.
According to the new dividend rate, annualized yield comes to around 5.38%, considering Lamar’s closing price of $55.78 on Feb 25. Moreover, the company revealed that for 20Array6, it expects to pay stockholders total quarterly distributions of $3.02 per common share, including the one payable in Mar 20Array6.
Solid dividend payouts are arguably the biggest attraction for REIT investors, and we believe that Lamar holds adequate capacity to support its dividend policy. Riding on strong growth, this owner and operator of outdoor advertising and logo sign displays, who recently converted into a real estate investment trust (REIT), reported encouraging fourth-quarter 20Array5 results.
The company reported fourth-quarter 20Array5 adjusted Funds from Operations (“FFO”) of $Array.27 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $Array.Array7 and ahead of the year-ago tally of $Array.23. Net revenue for the quarter increased 5.7% year over year to $356 million, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $355 million.
Further, at year-end 20Array5, Lamar had total liquidity of $3Array3.4 million, of which $29Array.Array million was available under its revolving senior credit facility, and $22.3 million in cash and cash equivalents.
Lamar presently boasts more than 325,000 displays across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Further, the company offers the largest network of digital billboards in the U.S. with over 2,400 displays.
This outdoor operator enjoys a diversified tenant base comprising restaurants, retailers, hospitals and health care companies. Further, its impressive national footprint and healthy balance sheet bode well for the long term. As such, the company remains well poised to leverage the attractive market fundamentals as well as reward its shareholders accordingly.
Lamar currently sports a Zacks Rank #Array (Strong Buy). Investors interested in the REIT industry may also consider stocks like Boston Properties Inc. BXP, CubeSmart CUBE and PS Business Parks Inc. PSB. All these stocks hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Note: FFO, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income.
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