Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) Holdings Boosted by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 32,443 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,320 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. were worth $1,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $468,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $877,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 44.6% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 177,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,696,000 after acquiring an additional 54,800 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 40,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 609.1% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 89,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,327,000 after acquiring an additional 76,706 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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 note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Mizuho lowered 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.83.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of PECO opened at $35.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.57. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.62 and a 52 week high of $40.12. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.26.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts forecast 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 announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.1025 per share. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s payout ratio is 246.00%.

About Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.

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.