Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Acquires 150,000 Shares of OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT) by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 650,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 150,000 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned about 0.39% of OUTFRONT Media worth $9,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 2.2% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 203,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,907,000 after buying an additional 4,436 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in OUTFRONT Media by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 711,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,174,000 after acquiring an additional 232,300 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in OUTFRONT Media by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 15,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in OUTFRONT Media in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,293,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of OUTFRONT Media by 113.1% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 339,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,851,000 after purchasing an additional 180,000 shares during the period.

OUTFRONT Media Stock Up 1.0 %

OUT stock opened at $18.25 on Friday. OUTFRONT Media Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.18 and a fifty-two week high of $18.65. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.94. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $16.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

OUTFRONT Media (NYSE:OUT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.60. The company had revenue of $477.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $482.27 million. OUTFRONT Media had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 12.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that OUTFRONT Media Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

OUTFRONT Media Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.58%. OUTFRONT Media’s payout ratio is -45.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on OUT shares. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of OUTFRONT Media in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Barrington Research increased their target price on shares of OUTFRONT Media from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. StockNews.com upgraded OUTFRONT Media from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on OUTFRONT Media from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on OUTFRONT Media in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.20.

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.