OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $24.15 and last traded at $24.1250, with a volume of 67820 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on OUT shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of OUTFRONT Media from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Tuesday. New Street Research set a $24.00 target price on OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. TD Cowen raised OUTFRONT Media from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Wall Street Zen raised OUTFRONT Media from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Cowen raised shares of OUTFRONT Media from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, OUTFRONT Media presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $23.14.

OUTFRONT Media Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.75, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $20.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.45, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.57.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $467.50 million for 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 last year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that OUTFRONT Media Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OUTFRONT Media Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. OUTFRONT Media’s dividend payout ratio is presently 176.47%.

Insider Transactions at OUTFRONT Media

In other OUTFRONT Media news, Director Manuel A. Diaz sold 11,270 shares of OUTFRONT Media stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.18, for a total value of $249,968.60. Following the sale, the director owned 58,786 shares in the company, valued at $1,303,873.48. The trade was a 16.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $22,330,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in OUTFRONT Media by 85.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,788,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,192,000 after acquiring an additional 822,845 shares in the last quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC increased its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 24.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 758,952 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media during the third quarter worth about $13,705,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of OUTFRONT Media in the first quarter valued at approximately $11,388,000.

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.