OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• OUTFRONT Media hit a new 52-week high at $29.33 amid a wave of analyst upgrades and raised targets (six Buys, one Hold), with price targets as high as $33 and an average target of $27.86.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.55, missing consensus of $0.71 while revenue of $513.3M roughly matched estimates, and the stock trades at a market cap of $5.15B with a P/E of 36.54.
• OUTFRONT pays a quarterly dividend that yields ~4.1% ($1.20 annualized) but carries a 150% payout ratio, high debt-to-equity (3.63) and recent insider selling, raising questions about dividend sustainability and leverage risk.

OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $29.33 and last traded at $29.0750, with a volume of 285075 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OUT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of OUTFRONT Media from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $20.00 to $28.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of OUTFRONT Media from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. TD Cowen raised their price objective on OUTFRONT Media from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Barrington Research lifted their target price on OUTFRONT Media from $27.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.86.

OUTFRONT Media Price Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $26.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.33. 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 firm has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.51.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $511.61 million. OUTFRONT Media had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 24.86%. Equities research analysts predict that OUTFRONT Media Inc. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OUTFRONT Media Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. OUTFRONT Media's payout ratio is presently 150.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other OUTFRONT Media news, EVP Matthew Siegel sold 50,000 shares of OUTFRONT Media stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total transaction of $1,289,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 289,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,477,165.75. This trade represents a 14.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 OUTFRONT Media stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.93, for a total transaction of $303,528.03. Following the sale, the director directly owned 36,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $976,050.92. This trade represents a 23.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 72,542 shares of company stock valued at $1,869,055. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of OUTFRONT Media

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OUT. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in OUTFRONT Media by 226.8% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,310,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603,315 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in OUTFRONT Media by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,654,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $545,983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131,954 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in OUTFRONT Media by 85.2% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,788,695 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,192,000 after purchasing an additional 822,845 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in OUTFRONT Media during the third quarter valued at $13,705,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in OUTFRONT Media by 199.9% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 905,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,826,000 after purchasing an additional 603,694 shares during the last quarter.

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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