OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) Share Price Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• OUTFRONT Media shares rose above their 50-day moving average, trading as high as $30.16 versus the $29.35 average, though they remained below the 200-day average of $30.48.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with six Buy ratings and one Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a $34 average price target. Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, and TD Cowen set targets between $38 and $40.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while increasing its quarterly dividend to $0.33, yielding about 4.4%; however, the payout ratio is high at 94.96%, and executives recently sold shares.

OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $29.35 and traded as high as $30.16. OUTFRONT Media shares last traded at $30.0090, with a volume of 1,084,310 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of OUTFRONT Media from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of OUTFRONT Media from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.00.

OUTFRONT Media Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.59 and a beta of 1.53.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.30. OUTFRONT Media had a return on equity of 37.44% and a net margin of 12.66%. The company had revenue of $522.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $509.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that OUTFRONT Media Inc. will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current year.

OUTFRONT Media Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. This is a boost from OUTFRONT Media's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. OUTFRONT Media's payout ratio is presently 94.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at OUTFRONT Media

In other OUTFRONT Media news, EVP Matthew Siegel sold 25,000 shares of OUTFRONT Media stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.84, for a total value of $696,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 264,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,375,512. The trade was a 8.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Mark Emilio Bonanni sold 3,385 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.82, for a total transaction of $100,940.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,420 shares in the company, valued at $310,724.40. This trade represents a 24.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 22,314,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $537,779,000 after acquiring an additional 486,192 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in OUTFRONT Media by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,211,619 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $58,603,000 after purchasing an additional 133,960 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in OUTFRONT Media during the 2nd quarter valued at $56,839,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in OUTFRONT Media by 13.8% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 872,450 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $23,120,000 after buying an additional 105,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of OUTFRONT Media in the second quarter valued at $18,702,000.

About OUTFRONT Media

OUTFRONT Media Inc is an out-of-home advertising company that provides brands and agencies with advertising space across physical and digital displays. Its offerings include traditional and digital billboards, urban panels, street furniture, transit advertising, and other display formats designed to reach consumers in public spaces.

The company's advertising inventory is used across major metropolitan areas and transportation systems in the United States. OUTFRONT combines its media assets with audience measurement, data and analytics, creative services, and digital advertising capabilities to help advertisers plan, deliver, and evaluate campaigns.

OUTFRONT Media was formed from the former CBS Outdoor Americas business and adopted its current name in 2014 following its separation from CBS Corporation.

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