OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading 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.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on OUT. TD Cowen upgraded shares of OUTFRONT Media from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. New Street Research set a $24.00 price target on OUTFRONT Media in a report on Tuesday. Cowen raised shares of OUTFRONT Media from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of OUTFRONT Media from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $20.00) on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research note on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, OUTFRONT Media has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other OUTFRONT Media news, EVP Mark Emilio Bonanni sold 4,126 shares of OUTFRONT Media stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.38, for a total value of $79,961.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,814.60. The trade was a 49.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Pep Viii Gp Llc sold 8,400,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.06, for a total value of $151,704,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,913,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $160,983,462.78. The trade was a 48.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OUTFRONT Media

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OUT. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in OUTFRONT Media during the first quarter worth approximately $2,153,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in OUTFRONT Media by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 12,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 1,397 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in OUTFRONT Media by 8.5% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in OUTFRONT Media during the first quarter worth $423,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in OUTFRONT Media by 97.6% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 3,313 shares during the last quarter.

OUTFRONT Media Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $18.38 and its 200 day moving average is $17.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.75, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.79.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) last issued 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). OUTFRONT Media had a return on equity of 21.56% and a net margin of 6.86%.The business had revenue of $467.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $458.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that OUTFRONT Media Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OUTFRONT Media Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. OUTFRONT Media’s payout ratio is 176.47%.

About OUTFRONT Media

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.