First Trust Advisors LP Buys 152,818 Shares of Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX - Free Report) by 71.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 365,784 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 152,818 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.12% of Brixmor Property Group worth $10,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,064 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Brixmor Property Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 61,435 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,710,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,761 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 9,363 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 124.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 938 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brixmor Property Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BRX traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $25.68. 1,698,499 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,220,744. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $25.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.30. Brixmor Property Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.32 and a 52 week high of $30.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Brixmor Property Group (NYSE:BRX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. Brixmor Property Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 26.40%. The company had revenue of $337.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Brixmor Property Group Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Brixmor Property Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 2nd. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. Brixmor Property Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 103.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Brixmor Property Group from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI raised Brixmor Property Group from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Brixmor Property Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Brixmor Property Group from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Brixmor Property Group from $31.75 to $31.25 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brixmor Property Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.48.

Brixmor Property Group Company Profile

Brixmor Property Group, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust, which engages in owning and operating a portfolio of grocery anchored community and neighborhood shopping centers. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in New York, NY.