Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) Short Interest Update

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,290,000 shares, an increase of 32.0% from the August 31st total of 3,250,000 shares. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 727,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho raised their price target on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $34.00 to $37.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Compass Point upped their price target on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $32,120,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 240.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,170,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,971,000 after acquiring an additional 826,891 shares in the last quarter. GRS Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,042,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,337,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $693,619,000 after purchasing an additional 577,445 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 60.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 791,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,378,000 after purchasing an additional 297,945 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PECO traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $37.26. The company had a trading volume of 903,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 767,648. The stock has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.22. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a one year low of $30.62 and a one year high of $39.08.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.48). The company had revenue of $161.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.29 million. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. had a net margin of 9.32% and a return on equity of 2.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.1025 dividend. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This is a positive change from Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s previous monthly dividend of $0.10. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 267.39%.

About Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc (PECO) is one of the nation's largest owners and operators of omni-channel grocery-anchored shopping centers. Founded in 1991, PECO has generated strong results through its vertically-integrated operating platform and national footprint of well-occupied shopping centers.