Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 16,470 Shares of OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 687,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,470 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.41% of OUTFRONT Media worth $11,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in OUTFRONT Media by 1,484.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,138 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 56,342 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in OUTFRONT Media by 429.8% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 32,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 26,577 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $36,285,000 after purchasing an additional 153,617 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in OUTFRONT Media by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 12,596 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in OUTFRONT Media in the 4th quarter valued at $980,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on OUTFRONT Media from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on OUTFRONT Media from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered OUTFRONT Media from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on OUTFRONT Media from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, OUTFRONT Media currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Richard H. Sauer sold 20,109 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.88, for a total transaction of $319,330.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 70,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,124,875.68. This trade represents a 22.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

OUTFRONT Media Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:OUT traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $18.22. The company had a trading volume of 1,752,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,667,334. OUTFRONT Media Inc. has a 12 month low of $12.95 and a 12 month high of $19.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.37. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.78.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). OUTFRONT Media had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 14.60%. The company had revenue of $390.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $396.17 million. On average, analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.59%. OUTFRONT Media's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.95%.

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.