First Eagle Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in OUTFRONT Media Inc. $OUT

Key Points

• First Eagle Investment Management cut its OUTFRONT Media stake by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 58,000 shares and leaving it with 748,535 shares worth about $18.0 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive: six analysts rate OUTFRONT Media a Buy and one a Hold, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $29.14.
• OUTFRONT Media reported strong recent results, beating earnings estimates with EPS of $0.34 and posting 10% year-over-year revenue growth; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share payable June 30, yielding 3.7% annually.

First Eagle Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 748,535 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 58,000 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.45% of OUTFRONT Media worth $18,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in OUTFRONT Media during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 157.6% during the fourth 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 during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 16.5% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 224.4% during 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, Rossby Financial LCC raised its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 14.2% during the third quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 7,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of OUTFRONT Media from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $37.00 target price on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of OUTFRONT Media from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Barrington Research raised their target price on shares of OUTFRONT Media from $27.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of OUTFRONT Media from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Matthew Siegel sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total transaction of $1,289,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 289,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,477,165.75. This trade represents a 14.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Manuel A. Diaz sold 11,271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.93, for a total transaction of $303,528.03. Following the sale, the director directly owned 36,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $976,050.92. The trade was a 23.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

OUTFRONT Media Stock Performance

Shares of OUT stock opened at $32.19 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $28.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.20. OUTFRONT Media Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.41 and a 52 week high of $34.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90. The company has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.50.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $429.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $431.44 million. OUTFRONT Media had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 30.36%. The business's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that OUTFRONT Media Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

OUTFRONT Media Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. OUTFRONT Media's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.29%.

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.

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