OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) Sets New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an overweight rating. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a $25.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $19.00. OUTFRONT Media traded as high as $21.88 and last traded at $21.4230, with a volume of 3077267 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.97.

OUT has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on OUTFRONT Media from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up from $20.00) on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Cowen upgraded shares of OUTFRONT Media from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of OUTFRONT Media from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

Insider Transactions at OUTFRONT Media

In related news, EVP Mark Emilio Bonanni sold 4,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 4,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,814.60. This trade represents a 49.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Pep Viii Gp Llc sold 8,400,000 shares of OUTFRONT Media stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.06, for a total transaction of $151,704,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,913,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $160,983,462.78. The trade was a 48.52% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in OUTFRONT Media by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,836,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,476,000 after purchasing an additional 555,568 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 9.9% during the first 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 period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 15.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,973,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,801,000 after acquiring an additional 527,258 shares in the last quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC lifted its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 24.0% in the second quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 3,925,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,063,000 after acquiring an additional 758,952 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in OUTFRONT Media by 10.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 275,023 shares in the last quarter.

OUTFRONT Media Trading Up 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.75, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.42, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.54.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $467.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $458.32 million. OUTFRONT Media had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 6.86%.OUTFRONT Media’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. Research analysts predict that OUTFRONT Media Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

OUTFRONT Media Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. OUTFRONT Media’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 176.47%.

OUTFRONT Media Company Profile

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.