Townsquare Media (NYSE:TSQ) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Townsquare Media (NYSE:TSQ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Noble Financial increased their target price on Townsquare Media from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Guggenheim increased their target price on Townsquare Media from $12.00 to $12.50 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an outperform rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Townsquare Media in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd.

Townsquare Media Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TSQ opened at $11.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 50.41. Townsquare Media has a 12-month low of $8.00 and a 12-month high of $13.57. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.31.

Townsquare Media (NYSE:TSQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, March 15th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $114.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $111.78 million. Townsquare Media had a positive return on equity of 55.40% and a negative net margin of 9.90%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Townsquare Media will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

Townsquare Media Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.198 per share. This is a positive change from Townsquare Media’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.65%. Townsquare Media’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -28.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Townsquare Media news, CEO Bill Wilson sold 391,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.36, for a total transaction of $4,837,951.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,139,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,439,708.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Claire Marie Yenicay sold 31,048 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.36, for a total transaction of $383,753.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 190,191 shares in the company, valued at $2,350,760.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Bill Wilson sold 391,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.36, for a total transaction of $4,837,951.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,139,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,439,708.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,886,934 shares of company stock valued at $35,653,276. 30.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Townsquare Media

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Townsquare Media by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 591,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,246,000 after buying an additional 7,252 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Townsquare Media by 109.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 26,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 13,944 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Townsquare Media by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 16,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,863 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in Townsquare Media by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 362,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,832,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Townsquare Media by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 243,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,573,000 after purchasing an additional 5,288 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.69% of the company’s stock.

About Townsquare Media

Townsquare Media, Inc operates as a digital media and marketing solutions company in small and medium-sized businesses. It operates through three segments: Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions, Digital Advertising, and Broadcast Advertising. The Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions segment offers website design, creation, and development, as well as hosting services; and search engine optimization, online directory optimization, e-commerce solutions, online reputation monitoring, social media management, appointment scheduling, payment and invoice, customer management, and email and SMS marketing services.