Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) Short Interest Up 18.3% in April

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,971,181 shares, a growth of 18.3% from the March 31st total of 3,355,943 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 804,511 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Institutional Trading of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PECO. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 2,590.0% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,036 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 418.1% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 903 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 143.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PECO shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Mizuho set a $39.00 price target on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Price Performance

Shares of PECO stock traded down $0.30 on Friday, hitting $39.87. The stock had a trading volume of 717,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 896,753. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $38.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.47. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.84 and a 1 year high of $40.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.53.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.43). The firm had revenue of $190.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.91 million. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 4.46%. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.790-0.810 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.1083 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s payout ratio is 141.30%.

About Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in the acquisition, ownership and operation of grocery-anchored, necessity-based shopping centers. The company’s investment strategy is centered on properties that benefit from everyday consumer demand, seeking to deliver stable cash flows through long-term, triple-net leases with national and regional tenants in the grocery, drugstore and essential retail sectors.

In addition to its core retail portfolio, Phillips Edison & Company provides integrated services covering property management, asset management, leasing, development and acquisition sourcing.