Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 208,099 Shares of OUTFRONT Media Inc. $OUT

Key Points

• Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. significantly increased its stake in OUTFRONT Media Inc. by 93.4%, acquiring an additional 208,099 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately $6.95 million.
• Recent insider transactions included EVP Mark Emilio Bonanni selling 4,126 shares, while major shareholder Pep Viii Gp LLC sold 8.4 million shares for over $151 million, indicating significant insider movement.
• OUTFRONT Media's stock recently saw a price drop of 2.0%, with analysts providing mixed ratings, resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $19.00.

Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT - Free Report) by 93.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 430,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 208,099 shares during the quarter. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.26% of OUTFRONT Media worth $6,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in OUTFRONT Media by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 687,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,093,000 after acquiring an additional 16,470 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 1,484.2% during the first 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 during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 429.8% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 32,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 26,577 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 122.2% in the 1st quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 500,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,070,000 after buying an additional 275,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in OUTFRONT Media by 162.1% during the 1st quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 123,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,996,000 after buying an additional 76,486 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at OUTFRONT Media

In other news, EVP Mark Emilio Bonanni sold 4,126 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.38, for a total value of $79,961.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,170 shares in the company, valued at $80,814.60. This represents a 49.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Pep Viii Gp Llc sold 8,400,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.06, for a total transaction of $151,704,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,913,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,983,462.78. The trade was a 48.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,454,126 shares of company stock valued at $152,575,272. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on OUT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on OUTFRONT Media from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of OUTFRONT Media from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of OUTFRONT Media from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (up from $17.00) on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.00.

OUTFRONT Media Stock Down 2.0%

OUT opened at $18.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.21, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.70. OUTFRONT Media Inc. has a twelve month low of $12.95 and a twelve month high of $19.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.60.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $460.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $463.16 million. OUTFRONT Media had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 18.07%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that OUTFRONT Media Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

OUTFRONT Media Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. OUTFRONT Media's dividend payout ratio is 206.90%.

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.

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