Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Makes New Investment in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. has invested approximately $2.71 million in Phillips Edison & Company, acquiring 74,136 shares during the first quarter.
• Phillips Edison reported a 10.1% year-over-year increase in revenue, reaching $173.47 million, and achieved an EPS of $0.64, exceeding analyst estimates.
• Phillips Edison & Company has a dividend yield of 3.5%, with a recent payout ratio of 223.64% and a dividend payment of $0.1025 per share.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 74,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,705,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. owned about 0.06% of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 41,137 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 370,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,884,000 after purchasing an additional 41,468 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 80,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,025,000 after purchasing an additional 2,423 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 53.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,737,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,084,000 after purchasing an additional 606,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $55,977,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PECO. Wall Street Zen cut Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.50.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of PECO traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $33.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,469,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 769,045. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.40 and a 52 week high of $40.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.03 and a 200 day moving average of $35.52. The company has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.54.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $173.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.38 million. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. had a return on equity of 2.64% and a net margin of 9.91%. The company's revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th were paid a $0.1025 dividend. This represents a yield of 350.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 223.64%.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Profile

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.