Anson Funds Management LP Acquires New Stake in OUTFRONT Media Inc. $OUT

Key Points

• Anson Funds Management LP has acquired a new stake in OUTFRONT Media, purchasing 65,000 shares valued at approximately $1,049,000 during the first quarter.
• OUTFRONT Media reported a quarterly EPS of $0.51, exceeding analyst expectations, but saw a 3.6% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30, representing a 6.4% yield, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 206.90%.

Anson Funds Management LP bought a new position in shares of OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 65,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,049,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of OUTFRONT Media during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 158.2% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,331 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 2,041 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media in the first quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $113,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 97.6% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,708 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 3,313 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at OUTFRONT Media

In other OUTFRONT Media news, EVP Richard H. Sauer sold 29,891 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.79, for a total transaction of $471,978.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 90,945 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,021.55. This trade represents a 24.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Pep Viii Gp Llc sold 8,400,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.06, for a total value of $151,704,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,913,813 shares in the company, valued at $160,983,462.78. The trade was a 48.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,454,126 shares of company stock valued at $152,575,272 in the last three months. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

OUTFRONT Media Stock Down 0.8%

OUT stock opened at $18.61 on Thursday. OUTFRONT Media Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.95 and a 1-year high of $19.80. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $18.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.72. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 31.83, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.87.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. OUTFRONT Media had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 18.07%. The firm had revenue of $460.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $463.16 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that OUTFRONT Media Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

OUTFRONT Media Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. OUTFRONT Media's dividend payout ratio is 206.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on OUT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen raised OUTFRONT Media from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 price target (up from $17.00) on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on OUTFRONT Media from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.00.

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.

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