Lamar Advertising Company LAMR, a leader in the out-of-home (OOH) advertising industry, has announced the acquisition of Premier Outdoor Media’s assets, marking a strategic expansion across the Northeast Corridor. The all-cash transaction bolsters Lamar’s already significant national footprint with nearly 200 additional billboard faces, including 45 digital units, in key markets spanning New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2018 by Caruth Capital Partners’ acquisition of Jersey Premier Outdoor Media, LLC, in partnership with industry executives Dominick Vastino and Sean Corbett, Premier Outdoor Media eventually became the largest independent digital OOH network in the Philadelphia Designated Market Area. Under Vastino and Corbett’s leadership, the company grew its digital display count by more than 500%, emphasizing high-quality asset development and aggressive market penetration.

Sean Reilly, CEO of Lamar, underscored the strategic value of the acquisition, noting, “This acquisition enhances our position in the greater Philadelphia and New York markets, including southern New Jersey, and is consistent with our strategy of adding high-quality, REIT-qualified assets to our portfolio.” The addition of Premier’s assets is expected to strengthen Lamar’s competitive edge in these densely populated markets, offering advertisers expanded reach and improved digital inventory.

The transaction reflects Lamar’s ongoing focus on scaling its digital OOH capabilities. Lamar operates more than 360,000 displays across North America, including approximately 5,000 digital billboards, making it the largest digital OOH network in the United States. This latest acquisition dovetails with Lamar’s growth strategy of acquiring regionally dominant, high-performing networks that align with its REIT structure. For Premier, the sale marks a successful exit following years of robust growth. 

Lamar’s acquisition of Premier Outdoor Media’s assets reinforces its commitment to strategic, high-return investments in key markets. As digital OOH continues to outpace traditional media in growth, Lamar's expanded Northeast presence positions it well to capture increasing advertiser demand. LAMR is scheduled to report its first-quarter 2025 results on May 8, 2025. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter 2025 funds from operations (FFO) per share is currently pegged at $1.54 on revenues of $508.9 million.

Shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have declined 4.6% so far in the year against the industry’s upside of 2.9%.

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Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the REIT sector are Welltower WELL and Cousins Properties CUZ, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Welltower’s 2025 FFO per share has moved up three cents in the past week to $4.98.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cousins Properties’ 2025 FFO per share has moved north three cents in the past two months to $2.79.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO), a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

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