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

Shares of 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $34.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Wolfe Research upgraded Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Compass Point boosted their target price on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.43.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.36. The company has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.67, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.57.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $165.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.20 million. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. had a return on equity of 2.22% and a net margin of 9.03%. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

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

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $376,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after buying an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 3.6% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 3,797 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,190,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,347,000 after buying an additional 19,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.