Advisors Capital Management LLC Invests $22.33 Million in OUTFRONT Media Inc. $OUT

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in OUTFRONT Media, purchasing 1,383,496 shares valued at approximately $22.33 million, representing 0.83% of the company.
• Major shareholder Pep Viii Gp Llc sold a significant 8.4 million shares of OUTFRONT Media, decreasing their ownership by 48.52% after a transaction valued at over $151 million.
• OUTFRONT Media recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30, translating to a 6.4% annualized yield, although the company's dividend payout ratio stands at 206.90%.

Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,383,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $22,330,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned 0.83% of OUTFRONT Media as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 98,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 15,145 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 45.6% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,888 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 11,559 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,399 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 2,357 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,980,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $80,393,000 after acquiring an additional 448,993 shares during the period. Finally, Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 93.4% during the 1st quarter. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 430,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,953,000 after acquiring an additional 208,099 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In other OUTFRONT Media news, EVP Mark Emilio Bonanni sold 4,126 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.38, for a total transaction of $79,961.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at $80,814.60. This represents a 49.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Pep Viii Gp Llc sold 8,400,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.06, for a total transaction of $151,704,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,913,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,983,462.78. This trade represents a 48.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 target price (up previously from $17.00) on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of OUTFRONT Media from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of OUTFRONT Media from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of OUTFRONT Media from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, OUTFRONT Media has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.00.

OUTFRONT Media Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:OUT traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $18.79. The company had a trading volume of 376,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,590,321. The company's 50 day moving average price is $18.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.60. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.87. OUTFRONT Media Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.95 and a 52-week high of $19.80.

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

OUTFRONT Media Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders 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 yield of 6.4%. OUTFRONT Media's dividend payout ratio is 206.90%.

OUTFRONT Media Profile

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.