Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 577,930 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,550 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.47% of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. worth $21,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,068,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,289,000 after buying an additional 18,429 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,190,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,347,000 after acquiring an additional 19,205 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 5.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,094,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,977,000 after purchasing an additional 102,519 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 50.1% in the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 1,474,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,589,000 after purchasing an additional 492,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,250,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,911,000 after purchasing an additional 179,775 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on PECO. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, August 28th. Compass Point raised their target price on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.00.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PECO opened at $38.22 on Thursday. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.62 and a 52-week high of $40.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.09, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $38.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.37.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.52). The firm had revenue of $165.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.20 million. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. had a return on equity of 2.22% and a net margin of 9.03%. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. Analysts forecast that Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.1025 per share. This represents a yield of 3.13%. This is a positive change from Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s previous dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.