Short Interest in OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT) Expands By 23.3%

OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 5,107,471 shares, an increase of 23.3% from the March 31st total of 4,141,971 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,261,906 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Insider Activity at OUTFRONT Media

In other OUTFRONT Media news, Director Manuel A. Diaz sold 11,271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.93, for a total transaction of $303,528.03. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 36,244 shares in the company, valued at $976,050.92. This 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 hyperlink. Also, EVP Matthew Siegel sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 289,925 shares in the company, valued at $7,477,165.75. This trade represents a 14.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of OUTFRONT Media

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in OUTFRONT Media by 9.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 130,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 11,073 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in OUTFRONT Media by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 85,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 448,993 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 2,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 45.6% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 11,559 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

OUTFRONT Media Stock Up 2.8%

OUT stock traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $31.71. The stock had a trading volume of 1,506,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,045,933. The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.60. 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 firm has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.50. OUTFRONT Media has a 52-week low of $14.45 and a 52-week high of $31.76.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $513.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $511.61 million. OUTFRONT Media had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 24.86%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that OUTFRONT Media will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OUTFRONT Media Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. OUTFRONT Media’s dividend payout ratio is 150.00%.

OUTFRONT Media Company Profile

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.