OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) Given New $20.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of OUTFRONT Media from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.20.

OUTFRONT Media Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE OUT opened at $20.21 on Monday. OUTFRONT Media has a 12-month low of $12.95 and a 12-month high of $20.48. The company has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.75. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.39.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $467.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.32 million. OUTFRONT Media had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 6.86%.OUTFRONT Media’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that OUTFRONT Media will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

OUTFRONT Media Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. OUTFRONT Media’s dividend payout ratio is presently 176.47%.

Insider Activity

In other OUTFRONT Media news, major shareholder Pep Viii Gp Llc sold 8,400,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.06, for a total value of $151,704,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,913,813 shares in the company, valued at $160,983,462.78. This represents a 48.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark Emilio Bonanni sold 4,126 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.38, for a total value of $79,961.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,814.60. The trade was a 49.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of OUTFRONT Media

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OUT. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in OUTFRONT Media by 7.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,836,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,476,000 after acquiring an additional 555,568 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,980,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,393,000 after purchasing an additional 448,993 shares in the last quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 3,925,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,063,000 after purchasing an additional 758,952 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 2,888,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,142,000 after purchasing an additional 275,023 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,264,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,959,000 after purchasing an additional 16,560 shares in the last quarter.

About OUTFRONT Media

OUTFRONT Media, Inc leases advertising space on out-of-home advertising structures and sites. Its inventory consists of billboard displays, which are primarily located on the most heavily traveled highways & roadways, and transit advertising displays operated under exclusive multi-year contracts with municipalities in large cities across the U.S.