Brixmor Property Group (NYSE:BRX) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $29.00 to $32.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock. Brixmor Property Group traded as high as $30.00 and last traded at $30.00, with a volume of 124 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.83.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on BRX. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Brixmor Property Group from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Brixmor Property Group from $25.50 to $27.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Brixmor Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Brixmor Property Group from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Brixmor Property Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brixmor Property Group news, insider Steven F. Siegel sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.54, for a total transaction of $738,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 315,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,305,218.16. The trade was a 7.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brixmor Property Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BRX. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Brixmor Property Group by 37.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,324,870 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $169,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995,299 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 35.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,735,933 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $132,443,000 after buying an additional 1,501,282 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Brixmor Property Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,615,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $156,473,000 after buying an additional 44,485 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Brixmor Property Group by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,959,993 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $138,185,000 after acquiring an additional 159,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Brixmor Property Group by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,804,746 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $110,940,000 after acquiring an additional 396,242 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Brixmor Property Group Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 1.57.

Brixmor Property Group (NYSE:BRX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.21). Brixmor Property Group had a return on equity of 11.48% and a net margin of 25.81%. The company had revenue of $320.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $320.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Brixmor Property Group Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brixmor Property Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.287 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This is an increase from Brixmor Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Brixmor Property Group’s dividend payout ratio is 106.48%.

About Brixmor Property Group

Brixmor (NYSE: BRX) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates a high-quality, national portfolio of open-air shopping centers. Its 362 retail centers comprise approximately 64 million square feet of prime retail space in established trade areas. The Company strives to own and operate shopping centers that reflect Brixmor's vision to be the center of the communities we serve and are home to a diverse mix of thriving national, regional and local retailers.