Townsquare Media (NYSE:TSQ) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Townsquare Media (NYSE:TSQ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Townsquare Media from $12.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Noble Financial lifted their target price on shares of Townsquare Media from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Townsquare Media in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd.

Townsquare Media Stock Performance

Shares of TSQ opened at $11.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 50.41, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $11.19 and a 200 day moving average of $10.31. Townsquare Media has a twelve month low of $8.00 and a twelve month high of $13.57.

Townsquare Media (NYSE:TSQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, March 15th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $114.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $111.78 million. Townsquare Media had a negative net margin of 9.90% and a positive return on equity of 55.40%. Analysts predict that Townsquare Media will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Townsquare Media Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.198 per share. This represents a $0.79 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This is a boost from Townsquare Media’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Townsquare Media’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -28.83%.

Insider Transactions at Townsquare Media

In other news, COO Erik Hellum sold 3,380 shares of Townsquare Media stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.03, for a total transaction of $37,281.40. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 736,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,126,198.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Erik Hellum sold 3,380 shares of Townsquare Media stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.03, for a total transaction of $37,281.40. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 736,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,126,198.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary L. Ginsberg sold 11,057 shares of Townsquare Media stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.36, for a total transaction of $136,664.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 89,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,101,362.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,886,934 shares of company stock worth $35,653,276 in the last 90 days. 30.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of TSQ. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Townsquare Media by 169.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 2,890 shares in the last quarter. Group One Trading L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Townsquare Media during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Citigroup Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Townsquare Media during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. California State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Townsquare Media during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC purchased a new position in shares of Townsquare Media during the 2nd quarter valued at $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.69% of the company’s stock.

About Townsquare Media

Townsquare Media, Inc operates as a digital media and marketing solutions company in small and medium-sized businesses. It operates through three segments: Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions, Digital Advertising, and Broadcast Advertising. The Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions segment offers website design, creation, and development, as well as hosting services; and search engine optimization, online directory optimization, e-commerce solutions, online reputation monitoring, social media management, appointment scheduling, payment and invoice, customer management, and email and SMS marketing services.