Morgan Stanley Raises OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) Price Target to $18.00

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $17.00 to $18.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

OUT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wolfe Research lowered OUTFRONT Media from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of OUTFRONT Media from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Five 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.00.

OUTFRONT Media Stock Performance

NYSE:OUT opened at $18.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.00, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.96. OUTFRONT Media has a fifty-two week low of $12.27 and a fifty-two week high of $19.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.81.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $456.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that OUTFRONT Media will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OUTFRONT Media Cuts Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OUTFRONT Media

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in OUTFRONT Media by 39,437.3% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 196,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,619,000 after purchasing an additional 196,398 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 48.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 711,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,174,000 after acquiring an additional 232,300 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 650,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,295,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of OUTFRONT Media during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,762,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in OUTFRONT Media in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,293,000.

About OUTFRONT Media

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.