Benchstone Capital Management LP Cuts Holdings in OUTFRONT Media Inc. $OUT

Key Points

• Benchstone Capital Management LP has significantly reduced its stake in OUTFRONT Media, selling 1,069,720 shares and decreasing its position by 65.4% in the first quarter.
• OUTFRONT Media reported a quarterly EPS of $0.51, surpassing expectations, but its revenue decreased by 3.6% year-over-year.
• A new quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share has been announced, representing a yield of 6.4% with a dividend payout ratio of 206.90%.

Benchstone Capital Management LP lowered its stake in OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT - Free Report) by 65.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 567,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,069,720 shares during the period. Benchstone Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.34% of OUTFRONT Media worth $9,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,836,183 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $126,476,000 after purchasing an additional 555,568 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,115,268 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $73,005,000 after purchasing an additional 342,413 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,248,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,285,000 after purchasing an additional 153,617 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,119,006 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,591,000 after purchasing an additional 159,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,005,448 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,368,000 after acquiring an additional 410,086 shares in the last quarter.

OUTFRONT Media Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE OUT traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $18.61. 3,179,856 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,591,326. OUTFRONT Media Inc. has a one year low of $12.95 and a one year high of $19.80. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.87. 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 (NYSE:OUT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $460.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $463.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. OUTFRONT Media's quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that OUTFRONT Media Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

OUTFRONT Media Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

OUT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (up previously from $17.00) on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, OUTFRONT Media currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.00.

Insider Transactions at OUTFRONT Media

In other news, EVP Richard H. Sauer sold 29,891 shares of OUTFRONT Media stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark Emilio Bonanni sold 4,126 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.38, for a total transaction of $79,961.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,814.60. This trade represents a 49.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,126 shares of company stock valued at $871,272 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

OUTFRONT Media Company 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.