Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 34,276 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $608,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 501,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,218,000 after buying an additional 150,669 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 82.2% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,190 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 12,718 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,477,499 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,211,000 after buying an additional 31,079 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 11,608 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 47.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 2,006 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on OUT. StockNews.com cut shares of OUTFRONT Media from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $17.97.

OUTFRONT Media Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OUT traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,122,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,676,174. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.00, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $15.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.49. OUTFRONT Media Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.95 and a 12-month high of $19.98.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.01). OUTFRONT Media had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 40.33%. The company had revenue of $390.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $396.17 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that OUTFRONT Media Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

OUTFRONT Media Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. OUTFRONT Media's payout ratio is 78.95%.

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.