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

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,950,000 shares, an increase of 24.6% from the February 28th total of 3,170,000 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 630,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.3 days.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PECO traded down $1.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $34.98. 1,038,505 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 676,437. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.19. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.62 and a 12-month high of $40.12. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.57.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO - Get Free Report) last announced its 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.1025 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 246.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 79.4% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. 111 Capital bought a new position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $241,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $719,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $83,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 785,928 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,441,000 after buying an additional 20,106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PECO shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Mizuho cut 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 research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.83.

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.