Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Takes $646,000 Position in OUTFRONT Media Inc. $OUT

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System purchased a new position in shares of OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 40,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $646,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 11,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 15,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 212,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,422,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded OUTFRONT Media from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 price target (up previously from $17.00) on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on OUTFRONT Media from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.00.

OUTFRONT Media Price Performance

Shares of OUT stock traded up $0.09 on Monday, hitting $18.82. 394,402 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,586,439. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.60, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.61. OUTFRONT Media Inc. has a 12 month low of $12.95 and a 12 month high of $19.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $17.14 and a 200 day moving average of $16.69.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. OUTFRONT Media had a return on equity of 18.07% and a net margin of 5.99%. The business had revenue of $460.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $463.16 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. OUTFRONT Media's revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that OUTFRONT Media Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

OUTFRONT Media Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. OUTFRONT Media's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 206.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at OUTFRONT Media

In related news, EVP Richard H. Sauer sold 20,109 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.88, for a total transaction of $319,330.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 70,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,124,875.68. This trade represents a 22.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.