Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,170,000 shares, a decline of 16.4% from the February 13th total of 3,790,000 shares. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 642,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.9 days.

Institutional Trading of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 94.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $39.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.00.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Trading Down 0.0 %

PECO stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $35.14. 441,574 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 606,082. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.62 and a twelve month high of $40.12. The company has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.35.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.50. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. had a return on equity of 2.40% and a net margin of 9.48%. Equities analysts predict that Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.1025 per share. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s payout ratio is 246.00%.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Company Profile

Phillips Edison & Co, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the ownership and operation of shopping centers. It also offers an investment management business providing property management and advisory services. Its portfolio consists of well-occupied, grocery-anchored neighborhood and community shopping centers having a mix of national, regional, and local retailers offering necessity-based goods and services.