Townsquare Media, Inc. (NYSE:TSQ) Short Interest Down 19.2% in January

Townsquare Media, Inc. (NYSE:TSQ) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 171,200 shares, a decrease of 19.2% from the December 31st total of 211,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 57,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Townsquare Media news, major shareholder Msd Capital L. P sold 6,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.01, for a total transaction of $62,632.57. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,506,641 shares in the company, valued at $15,081,476.41. This represents a 0.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claire Marie Yenicay sold 5,000 shares of Townsquare Media stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.22, for a total value of $46,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 214,953 shares in the company, valued at $1,981,866.66. This trade represents a 2.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,525 shares of company stock worth $713,275 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 30.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Townsquare Media

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Townsquare Media during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Townsquare Media by 28.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,503 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in Townsquare Media by 59.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 14,109 shares in the last quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Townsquare Media by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Townsquare Media by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 56,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,804 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on TSQ shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Townsquare Media from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Townsquare Media in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Noble Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Townsquare Media in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Townsquare Media Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of TSQ stock opened at $8.93 on Thursday. Townsquare Media has a 12-month low of $8.70 and a 12-month high of $13.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $9.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.17.

Townsquare Media (NYSE:TSQ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. Townsquare Media had a negative net margin of 8.84% and a negative return on equity of 57.10%. The firm had revenue of $115.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $115.48 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Townsquare Media will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Townsquare Media Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, February 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $0.1975 dividend. This represents a $0.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Townsquare Media’s dividend payout ratio is -29.15%.

Townsquare Media Company Profile

Townsquare Media, Inc operates as a digital media and marketing solutions company in small and medium-sized businesses. It operates through three segments: Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions, Digital Advertising, and Broadcast Advertising. The Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions segment offers website design, creation, and development, as well as hosting services; and search engine optimization, online directory optimization, e-commerce solutions, online reputation monitoring, social media management, appointment scheduling, payment and invoice, customer management, and email and SMS marketing services.