HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 9,424 Shares of Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG)

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG) by 47.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,342 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,424 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Regency Centers were worth $2,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of REG. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Regency Centers by 25,250.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Regency Centers in the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its stake in shares of Regency Centers by 300.0% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Regency Centers by 582.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 839 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Regency Centers in the 2nd quarter worth about $60,000. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on REG. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Regency Centers from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Compass Point raised their price objective on Regency Centers from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI raised Regency Centers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Mizuho increased their target price on Regency Centers from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Regency Centers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Regency Centers has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.08.

Regency Centers Price Performance

REG stock opened at $75.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.35. Regency Centers Co. has a 1 year low of $56.51 and a 1 year high of $76.53.

Regency Centers (NASDAQ:REG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.50). Regency Centers had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 27.78%. The company had revenue of $360.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $355.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.02 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Regency Centers Co. will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regency Centers Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.705 per share. This is a boost from Regency Centers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Regency Centers’s payout ratio is 132.39%.

Regency Centers Profile

Regency Centers is a preeminent national owner, operator, and developer of shopping centers located in suburban trade areas with compelling demographics. Our portfolio includes thriving properties merchandised with highly productive grocers, restaurants, service providers, and best-in-class retailers that connect to their neighborhoods, communities, and customers.