Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $39.83 and last traded at $39.83, with a volume of 117676 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on PECO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $34.00 to $37.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Mizuho increased their price target on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Compass Point raised their target price on 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.43.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Stock Up 0.9 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $37.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.36. The company has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.57.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.09 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 the consensus estimate of $157.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.1025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s payout ratio is 267.39%.

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

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PECO. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the second quarter worth about $32,120,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 240.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,170,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,971,000 after acquiring an additional 826,891 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 408.0% in 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 worth $28,879,000 after acquiring an additional 615,076 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 60.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 791,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,378,000 after acquiring an additional 297,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in the second quarter worth about $8,397,000. Institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Company Profile

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.