Gabelli Funds LLC Purchases 77,545 Shares of OUTFRONT Media Inc. $OUT

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 30.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 77,545 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 333,440 shares valued at about $8.0 million.
• OUTFRONT Media reported quarterly earnings of $0.34 per share, beating analyst estimates, while revenue rose 10% year over year to $429.6 million. Analysts currently have a consensus Moderate Buy rating on the stock.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, implying a 3.7% annualized yield, even as its payout ratio remains high at 114.29%.

Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT - Free Report) by 30.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 333,440 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 77,545 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 0.20% of OUTFRONT Media worth $8,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in OUTFRONT Media during the third quarter worth $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 157.6% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,339 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 16.5% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 224.4% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,853 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 5,432 shares during the period. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC raised its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 14.2% in the third quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 7,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on OUT. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of OUTFRONT Media from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (up from $32.00) on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barrington Research set a $38.00 price objective on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $37.00 price objective on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of OUTFRONT Media from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.71.

OUTFRONT Media Trading Up 0.3%

OUT stock opened at $32.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $29.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.80. OUTFRONT Media Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.45 and a 52 week high of $34.96. The company has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 30.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.06. OUTFRONT Media had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 30.36%. The business had revenue of $429.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $431.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. OUTFRONT Media's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that OUTFRONT Media Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

OUTFRONT Media Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. OUTFRONT Media's dividend payout ratio is 114.29%.

Insider Activity

In other OUTFRONT Media news, EVP Matthew Siegel sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 289,925 shares in the company, valued at $7,477,165.75. This represents a 14.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Manuel A. Diaz sold 11,271 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.93, for a total transaction of $303,528.03. Following the sale, the director owned 36,244 shares in the company, valued at $976,050.92. The trade was a 23.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

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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