Benchstone Capital Management LP Acquires Shares of 1,636,881 OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT)

Benchstone Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,636,881 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $29,038,000. OUTFRONT Media comprises about 3.0% of Benchstone Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Benchstone Capital Management LP owned about 1.01% of OUTFRONT Media as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in OUTFRONT Media during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 672.5% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,897 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,522 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in OUTFRONT Media by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in OUTFRONT Media by 155.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 2,555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in OUTFRONT Media by 47.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 2,006 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on OUT shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on OUTFRONT Media from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.08.

OUTFRONT Media Price Performance

OUT traded up $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.60. 2,033,736 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,678,949. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.00, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. OUTFRONT Media Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.95 and a 12-month high of $19.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.68.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $493.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $490.42 million. OUTFRONT Media had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 40.33%. On average, equities analysts forecast that OUTFRONT Media Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

OUTFRONT Media Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.69%. OUTFRONT Media's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.63%.

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.