Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCO) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 26,540,000 shares, an increase of 11.0% from the March 15th total of 23,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 11.2 days. Currently, 6.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CCO. Optas LLC bought a new position in Clear Channel Outdoor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. bought a new position in Clear Channel Outdoor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Clear Channel Outdoor by 76.9% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 29,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clear Channel Outdoor during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clear Channel Outdoor during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 85.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CCO. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Clear Channel Outdoor from $1.50 to $2.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Clear Channel Outdoor from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $1.50 to $2.75 in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. StockNews.com raised Clear Channel Outdoor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $2.50 price objective on shares of Clear Channel Outdoor in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.16.

Clear Channel Outdoor Trading Down 3.2 %

NYSE:CCO opened at $1.52 on Monday. Clear Channel Outdoor has a 1 year low of $0.99 and a 1 year high of $2.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1.69 and a 200-day moving average of $1.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $735.25 million, a P/E ratio of -2.34 and a beta of 2.88.

Clear Channel Outdoor (NYSE:CCO) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $632.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Clear Channel Outdoor will post -0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Clear Channel Outdoor

Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc operates as an out-of-home advertising company in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through America, Airports, Europe-North, and Other segments. The company provides advertising services through billboards, including bulletins and posters, as well as spectaculars, which are customized display structures with videos, multi-dimensional lettering and figures, mechanical devices, moving parts, and other embellishments; street furniture displays, such as advertising surfaces on bus shelters, information kiosks, news racks, and other public structures; transit displays for rail stations and on various types of vehicles; retail displays; and airport advertising displays.