TD starts Outfront with Hold on ‘impediment’ from NY contract

TD Cowen initiated coverage of Outfront Media with a Hold rating and $16 price target. Outfront has an “attractive, growing, and historically well-managed” portfolio of billboard assets,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. However, the firm says the company’s transit business, particularly its “onerous” contract with the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, is a “significant impediment.” Outfront’s prospects would likely “improve markedly” if the MTA contract were to be remedied, but “chances appear remote,” contends TD.