Short Interest in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) Drops By 36.6%

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,720,000 shares, a decline of 36.6% from the September 15th total of 4,290,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 721,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 160.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of PECO opened at $36.23 on Friday. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.62 and a fifty-two week high of $39.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $36.64 and a 200 day moving average of $34.32. The firm has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.57.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $161.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.29 million. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. had a return on equity of 2.23% and a net margin of 9.32%. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.1025 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This is a boost from Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s previous monthly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s payout ratio is 267.39%.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Company Profile

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.