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

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,790,000 shares, an increase of 35.8% from the January 31st total of 2,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 639,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.9 days. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 94.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $39.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded 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 research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.00.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of PECO stock opened at $37.23 on Tuesday. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.62 and a fifty-two week high of $40.12. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $36.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.58.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.50. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 2.40%. On average, research analysts forecast that Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.1025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 246.00%.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Company Profile

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.