First Trust Advisors LP Buys 172,879 Shares of OUTFRONT Media Inc. $OUT

First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT) by 102.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 342,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 172,879 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in OUTFRONT Media were worth $9,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 157.6% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of OUTFRONT Media in the fourth quarter worth $71,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 224.4% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 5,432 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 155.5% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 4,853 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP James Michael Norton purchased 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.81 per share, with a total value of $127,245.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president owned 4,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $127,245.30. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Richard H. Sauer sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.08, for a total value of $160,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 56,947 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,826,859.76. This trade represents a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 20,000 shares of company stock worth $629,600 in the last 90 days. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

OUTFRONT Media Stock Performance

Shares of OUTFRONT Media stock opened at $31.87 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $32.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.48. OUTFRONT Media Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.64 and a fifty-two week high of $34.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.06. OUTFRONT Media had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 30.36%. The company had revenue of $429.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $431.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that OUTFRONT Media Inc. will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OUTFRONT Media Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. OUTFRONT Media’s payout ratio is currently 114.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on OUT. Barrington Research set a $38.00 price objective on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $37.00 target price on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target (up from $32.00) on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of OUTFRONT Media from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, OUTFRONT Media has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.57.

About OUTFRONT Media

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.