OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) Lowered to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• OUTFRONT Media has been downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating, reflecting bearish sentiment among analysts.
• Despite the downgrade, Citigroup and Barrington Research have maintained positive ratings, with target prices of $19.00 and $21.00 respectively, indicating mixed views from different analysts.
• The company's recent earnings report revealed a drop in EPS to $0.14, missing expectations, which could have contributed to the downgrade in its stock rating.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on OUTFRONT Media from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price target (up from $17.00) on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a report on Sunday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, OUTFRONT Media presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $18.60.

OUTFRONT Media Price Performance

OUTFRONT Media stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,404,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,183,791. The stock has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.87. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $16.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.76. OUTFRONT Media has a 52 week low of $12.95 and a 52 week high of $19.50.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $390.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $396.17 million. OUTFRONT Media had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 14.60%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that OUTFRONT Media will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at OUTFRONT Media

In other news, EVP Richard H. Sauer sold 29,891 shares of OUTFRONT Media stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.79, for a total value of $471,978.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 90,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,021.55. This trade represents a 24.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On OUTFRONT Media

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in OUT. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 132.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,604,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $276,819,000 after purchasing an additional 8,892,411 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 87.8% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 5,243,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $93,015,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450,632 shares during the period. Benchstone Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of OUTFRONT Media in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,038,000. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 6,623.5% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,595,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,571,634 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of OUTFRONT Media in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $22,330,000.

About OUTFRONT Media

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.