OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold”

Zacks Research cut shares of OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of OUTFRONT Media from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. New Street Research set a $24.00 price objective on OUTFRONT Media in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. TD Cowen upped their target price on OUTFRONT Media from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded OUTFRONT Media from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $20.00) on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.86.

OUTFRONT Media Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE OUT traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $28.86. 588,627 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,399,236. The company has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a PE ratio of 36.08, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.51. OUTFRONT Media has a 12 month low of $12.95 and a 12 month high of $29.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.85.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $513.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $511.61 million. OUTFRONT Media had a net margin of 8.03% and a return on equity of 24.86%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that OUTFRONT Media will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

OUTFRONT Media Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. OUTFRONT Media’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 150.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Manuel A. Diaz sold 11,271 shares of OUTFRONT Media stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.49, for a total value of $276,026.79. Following the sale, the director directly owned 47,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,163,642.35. The trade was a 19.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of OUTFRONT Media

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 226.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,310,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603,315 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,654,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $545,983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131,954 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in OUTFRONT Media by 85.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,788,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,192,000 after acquiring an additional 822,845 shares during the last quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 24.0% during the 2nd quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 3,925,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,063,000 after purchasing an additional 758,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media in the third quarter valued at approximately $13,705,000.

OUTFRONT Media Company Profile

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.