Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.00.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PECO shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Compass Point lifted their target price on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of PECO opened at $37.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 81.63, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.57. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.62 and a 1 year high of $40.12. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.16.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.52). Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. had a return on equity of 2.22% and a net margin of 9.03%. The company had revenue of $165.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.1025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a boost from Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s previous dividend of $0.10. This represents a dividend yield of 3.13%. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s payout ratio is 267.39%.

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

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PECO. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $378,000. Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $376,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 3.1% during the third quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 3.6% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 109,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,190,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,347,000 after purchasing an additional 19,205 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

About Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc (PECO) is one of the nation's largest owners and operators of omni-channel grocery-anchored shopping centers. Founded in 1991, PECO has generated strong results through its vertically-integrated operating platform and national footprint of well-occupied shopping centers.