OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of OUTFRONT Media from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $28.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Barrington Research lifted their price target on shares of OUTFRONT Media from $27.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. New Street Research set a $24.00 price objective on OUTFRONT Media in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded OUTFRONT Media from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded OUTFRONT Media from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.86.

OUTFRONT Media Price Performance

OUT opened at $29.16 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $25.47 and a 200 day moving average of $21.90. The stock has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.45, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.63. OUTFRONT Media has a 52-week low of $12.95 and a 52-week high of $29.27.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 8.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that OUTFRONT Media will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

OUTFRONT Media Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other OUTFRONT Media news, Director Manuel A. Diaz sold 11,271 shares of OUTFRONT Media stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.49, for a total value of $276,026.79. Following the transaction, the director owned 47,515 shares in the company, valued at $1,163,642.35. The trade was a 19.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of OUTFRONT Media

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 226.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,310,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,603,315 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in OUTFRONT Media by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,654,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $545,983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131,954 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 85.2% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,788,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,192,000 after purchasing an additional 822,845 shares in the last quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 24.0% during the 2nd quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 3,925,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,063,000 after purchasing an additional 758,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media in the 3rd quarter worth $13,705,000.

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.