Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG) by 43.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 92,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 72,500 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Regency Centers were worth $5,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PGGM Investments boosted its stake in shares of Regency Centers by 2,586.9% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,670,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608,431 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Regency Centers by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,565,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $518,751,000 after buying an additional 1,210,906 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Regency Centers by 10.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,048,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $547,995,000 after acquiring an additional 873,062 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Regency Centers by 3.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,889,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,749,520,000 after acquiring an additional 830,572 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Regency Centers by 67.0% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 987,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,768,000 after acquiring an additional 395,901 shares during the period. 96.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

REG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Regency Centers from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Regency Centers from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Regency Centers from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Regency Centers from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Regency Centers from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given 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 $76.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Regency Centers news, Chairman Martin E. Stein, Jr. sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $1,750,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 307,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,503,930. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Michael R. Herman sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.57, for a total transaction of $69,570.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,010 shares in the company, valued at $905,105.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Martin E. Stein, Jr. sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $1,750,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 307,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,503,930. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Regency Centers Stock Performance

Shares of REG stock opened at $70.92 on Friday. Regency Centers Co. has a 1 year low of $56.29 and a 1 year high of $75.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $12.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.60, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $70.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.00.

Regency Centers (NASDAQ:REG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.48). The firm had revenue of $357.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $361.56 million. Regency Centers had a return on equity of 5.63% and a net margin of 27.60%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. Analysts predict that Regency Centers Co. will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Regency Centers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 12th. Regency Centers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 130.73%.

Regency Centers Company Profile

Regency Centers is a preeminent national owner, operator, and developer of shopping centers located in suburban trade areas with compelling demographics. Our portfolio includes thriving properties merchandised with highly productive grocers, restaurants, service providers, and best-in-class retailers that connect to their neighborhoods, communities, and customers.