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

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in 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. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 642,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PECO. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 35,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 2.9% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 128,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,811,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 20,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PECO remained flat at $35.13 during trading hours on Tuesday. 124,625 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 604,607. The firm has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.38, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $36.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.37. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.62 and a twelve month high of $40.12.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.1025 dividend. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 246.00%.

About Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.

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.