Metis Global Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO)

Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,613 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,893 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. were worth $476,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,337,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $693,619,000 after acquiring an additional 577,445 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 16.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,250,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,911,000 after purchasing an additional 179,775 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $41,971,000 after buying an additional 826,891 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,106,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,186,000 after buying an additional 27,611 shares during the period. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,120,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PECO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Compass Point lifted their price target on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.43.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Price Performance

PECO stock opened at $39.22 on Tuesday. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.62 and a 1 year high of $39.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of 85.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.10.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 9.03% and a return on equity of 2.22%. The company had revenue of $165.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.1025 per share. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 267.39%.

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.