OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 23.3% in April to 5,107,471 shares (about 2.9% of shares short), leaving a 4.0 days-to-cover ratio—indicating rising bearish positions against OUTFRONT.
• OUTFRONT missed quarterly EPS ($0.55 vs. $0.71) though revenue slightly beat, yet shares trade near their 52‑week high (~$31.71) and analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with several price-target increases to $30–$33.
• The company pays a $0.30 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~3.8%) but has a 150% payout ratio, and notable insider selling (EVP sold 50,000 shares), raising questions about dividend sustainability and insider conviction.

OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 5,107,471 shares, a growth of 23.3% from the March 31st total of 4,141,971 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,261,906 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days.

OUTFRONT Media Stock Performance

Shares of OUT stock traded up $0.86 during trading on Friday, hitting $31.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,506,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,045,933. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.63. The company has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 39.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $28.15 and a 200-day moving average of $24.60. OUTFRONT Media has a 52 week low of $14.45 and a 52 week high of $31.76.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.16). The business 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that OUTFRONT Media will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

OUTFRONT Media Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. OUTFRONT Media's dividend payout ratio is presently 150.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other OUTFRONT Media news, EVP Matthew Siegel sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total value of $1,289,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 289,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,477,165.75. The trade was a 14.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.93, for a total transaction of $303,528.03. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 36,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $976,050.92. This represents a 23.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of OUTFRONT Media

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 130,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,105,000 after buying an additional 11,073 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 2.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 85,971 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,739 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 9.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 448,993 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 21,399 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 2,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 45.6% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,888 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 11,559 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About OUTFRONT Media

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.

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