OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $19.48 and last traded at $19.17, with a volume of 444394 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on OUT shares. StockNews.com cut OUTFRONT Media from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Wolfe Research cut shares of OUTFRONT Media from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on OUTFRONT Media from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.25.

OUTFRONT Media Stock Down 0.5 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.37 and a 200-day moving average of $16.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.00.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.20). OUTFRONT Media had a return on equity of 40.33% and a net margin of 13.30%. The company had revenue of $451.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $456.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that OUTFRONT Media Inc. will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

OUTFRONT Media Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. OUTFRONT Media’s dividend payout ratio is 87.59%.

Institutional Trading of OUTFRONT Media

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC grew its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 2,842,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,733,000 after acquiring an additional 419,706 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in OUTFRONT Media by 48.5% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 711,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,174,000 after purchasing an additional 232,300 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 39,437.3% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 196,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,619,000 after buying an additional 196,398 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in OUTFRONT Media by 266.2% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 48,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 35,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 650,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,295,000 after buying an additional 150,000 shares during the period.

OUTFRONT Media Company Profile

OUTFRONT leverages the power of technology, location, and creativity to connect brands with consumers outside of their homes through one of the largest and most diverse sets of billboard, transit, and mobile assets in North America. Through its technology platform, OUTFRONT will fundamentally change the ways advertisers engage audiences on-the-go.