Vanguard Group Inc. Has $545.98 Million Stock Position in OUTFRONT Media Inc. $OUT

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 5.3% in Q4 and now owns 22,654,899 shares — about 13.55% of the company valued at roughly $545.98 million.
• Several analysts have raised price targets (Wells Fargo, TD Cowen, Barrington), leaving a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a target price near $27.86.
• Company fundamentals are mixed: OUTFRONT missed quarterly EPS ($0.55 vs. $0.71), carries a high debt-to-equity ratio (3.63), but pays a quarterly dividend of $0.30 (annual yield ~3.9%) with a payout ratio of 150%.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT - Free Report) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,654,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,131,954 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 13.55% of OUTFRONT Media worth $545,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of OUT. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,980,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $80,393,000 after buying an additional 448,993 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,973,868 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,801,000 after buying an additional 527,258 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 2,888,621 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,142,000 after buying an additional 275,023 shares during the last quarter. GRS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. GRS Advisors LLC now owns 2,468,232 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,218,000 after buying an additional 279,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 2,197,384 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,256,000 after buying an additional 316,107 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on OUT. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on OUTFRONT Media from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research downgraded OUTFRONT Media from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on OUTFRONT Media from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Barrington Research increased their price objective on OUTFRONT Media from $27.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at OUTFRONT Media

In other OUTFRONT Media news, EVP Matthew Siegel sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total transaction of $1,289,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 289,925 shares in the company, valued at $7,477,165.75. This trade represents a 14.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $26.93, for a total value of $303,528.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 36,244 shares in the company, valued at $976,050.92. The trade was a 23.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

OUTFRONT Media Stock Down 2.4%

OUT stock opened at $30.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.63, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.69, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.50. The business's fifty day moving average price is $28.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.70. OUTFRONT Media Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.45 and a fifty-two week high of $31.89.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $513.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $511.61 million. OUTFRONT Media had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 8.03%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that OUTFRONT Media Inc. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

OUTFRONT Media Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. OUTFRONT Media's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 150.00%.

OUTFRONT Media Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.