OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $34.00.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on OUT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of OUTFRONT Media from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered OUTFRONT Media from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th.

OUTFRONT Media Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:OUT opened at $29.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $29.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.44. OUTFRONT Media has a fifty-two week low of $16.97 and a fifty-two week high of $34.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96 and a beta of 1.53.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.30. OUTFRONT Media had a return on equity of 37.44% and a net margin of 12.66%.The company had revenue of $522.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $509.61 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that OUTFRONT Media will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OUTFRONT Media Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This is a boost from OUTFRONT Media’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. OUTFRONT Media’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Mark Emilio Bonanni sold 3,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.82, for a total transaction of $100,940.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,420 shares in the company, valued at $310,724.40. This represents a 24.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Matthew Siegel sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.84, for a total transaction of $696,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 264,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,375,512. This represents a 8.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OUTFRONT Media

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,657,000. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in OUTFRONT Media by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 42,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,392,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in OUTFRONT Media during the 2nd quarter worth $84,000. Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its position in OUTFRONT Media by 831.4% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 131,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,305,000 after buying an additional 117,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in OUTFRONT Media in the 2nd quarter valued at $822,000.

About OUTFRONT Media

OUTFRONT Media Inc is an out-of-home advertising company that provides brands and agencies with advertising space across physical and digital displays. Its offerings include traditional and digital billboards, urban panels, street furniture, transit advertising, and other display formats designed to reach consumers in public spaces.

The company’s advertising inventory is used across major metropolitan areas and transportation systems in the United States. OUTFRONT combines its media assets with audience measurement, data and analytics, creative services, and digital advertising capabilities to help advertisers plan, deliver, and evaluate campaigns.

OUTFRONT Media was formed from the former CBS Outdoor Americas business and adopted its current name in 2014 following its separation from CBS Corporation.