Should You Invest In Outfront Media Inc. (NYSE:OUT)?
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Outfront Media Inc. is a US$3.7b mid-cap, real estate investment trust (REIT) based in New York, United States. REITs own and operate income-generating property and adhere to a different set of regulations. This impacts how OUT’s business operates and also how we should analyse its stock. Below, I'll look at a few important metrics to keep in mind as part of your research on OUT.
Check out our latest analysis for Outfront Media
Funds from Operations (FFO) is a higher quality measure of OUT's earnings compared to net income. This term is very common in the REIT investing world as it provides a cleaner look at its cash flow from daily operations by excluding impact of one-off activities or non-cash items such as depreciation. For OUT, its FFO of US$214m makes up 29% of its gross profit, which is relatively low, given most REITs' earnings are predominantly high-quality and recurring funds from operations.
Robust financial health can be measured using a common metric in the REIT investing world, FFO-to-debt. The calculation roughly estimates how long it will take for OUT to repay debt on its balance sheet, which gives us insight into how much risk is associated with having that level of debt on its books. With a ratio of 9.3%, the credit rating agency Standard & Poor would consider this as aggressive risk. This would take OUT 11 years to pay off using just operating income, which is a long time, and risk increases with time. But realistically, companies have many levers to pull in order to pay back their debt, beyond operating income alone.
Next, interest coverage ratio shows how many times OUT’s earnings can cover its annual interest payments. Usually the ratio is calculated using EBIT, but for REITs, it’s better to use FFO divided by net interest. This is similar to the above concept, but looks at the nearer-term obligations. With an interest coverage ratio of 1.7x, OUT is not generating an appropriate amount of cash from its borrowings. Typically, a ratio of greater than 3x is seen as safe.
In terms of valuing OUT, FFO can also be used as a form of relative valuation. Instead of the P/E ratio, P/FFO is used instead, which is very common for REIT stocks. In OUT’s case its P/FFO is 17.4x, compared to the long-term industry average of 16.5x, meaning that it is fairly valued.
Next Steps:
As a REIT, Outfront Media offers some unique characteristics which could help diversify your portfolio. However, before you decide on whether or not to invest in OUT, I highly recommend taking a look at other aspects of the stock to consider:
Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for OUT’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for OUT’s outlook.
Valuation: What is OUT worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether OUT is currently mispriced by the market.
Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
