OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $29.53 and last traded at $29.4520, with a volume of 992476 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $29.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on OUT. Barrington Research increased their price objective on OUTFRONT Media from $27.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on OUTFRONT Media from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research cut OUTFRONT Media from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on OUTFRONT Media from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.86.

OUTFRONT Media Stock Up 1.3%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.16 and a 200 day moving average of $23.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.63, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.82, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.51.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.16). OUTFRONT Media had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 24.86%. The company had revenue of $513.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $511.61 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that OUTFRONT Media Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OUTFRONT Media Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. OUTFRONT Media’s dividend payout ratio is 150.00%.

Insider Activity at OUTFRONT Media

In other news, Director Manuel A. Diaz sold 11,271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.93, for a total value of $303,528.03. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 36,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $976,050.92. This trade represents a 23.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Matthew Siegel sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total value of $1,289,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 289,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,477,165.75. The trade was a 14.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 72,542 shares of company stock valued at $1,869,055 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of OUTFRONT Media

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GRS Advisors LLC grew its position in OUTFRONT Media by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. GRS Advisors LLC now owns 2,468,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,218,000 after acquiring an additional 279,326 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in OUTFRONT Media during the 3rd quarter worth $1,259,000. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC grew its position in OUTFRONT Media by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 700,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,824,000 after acquiring an additional 200,000 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in OUTFRONT Media by 41.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 474,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,670,000 after acquiring an additional 140,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barnett & Company Inc. bought a new stake in OUTFRONT Media during the 3rd quarter worth $1,519,000.

About OUTFRONT Media

OUTFRONT Media Inc is a leading out-of-home (OOH) advertising company offering a broad range of billboard, transit and digital display solutions across major urban markets in the United States and Canada. Its portfolio encompasses traditional static billboards, high-resolution digital signage, transit media on buses, trains and taxis, as well as street furniture placements such as bus shelters, kiosks and urban panels. The company partners with brand marketers to deliver high-impact campaigns that engage consumers outside the home environment.

Through an extensive network of assets in key metropolitan areas, OUTFRONT provides advertisers with premium visibility along highways, city streets and transit corridors.