Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 397,862 Shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,720,204 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 397,862 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 15.73% of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. worth $719,590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 78.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional bought a new stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 79.4% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:PECO opened at $33.77 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $34.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.38. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.40 and a twelve month high of $40.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 61.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.54.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $173.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.38 million. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. had a net margin of 9.91% and a return on equity of 2.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.1025 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s payout ratio is 223.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PECO shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.50.

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.