Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) Short Interest Up 24.6% in March

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in 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. Based on an average daily volume of 630,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.3 days. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PECO. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.83.

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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PECO. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 609.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 89,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,327,000 after purchasing an additional 76,706 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 1.6% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 55,608 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,097,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 408.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 765,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,879,000 after buying an additional 615,076 shares in the last quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the third quarter worth approximately $398,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 191.3% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 22,802 shares of the company's stock worth $860,000 after acquiring an additional 14,975 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ PECO traded down $1.08 on Friday, reaching $34.98. 1,038,498 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 674,430. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 69.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.57. 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 of $36.15 and a 200 day moving average of $37.22.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research 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 company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.1025 dividend. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 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.