Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) Short Interest Up 22.5% in March

Key Points

• Short interest up 22.5% in March to 3,743,203 shares, equal to 3.2% of the stock and a days-to-cover ratio of 5.3.
• The company missed quarterly EPS ($0.38 vs. $0.66 expected) while revenue rose 8.6%, and it set FY2026 guidance of $0.740–$0.770 EPS versus analysts' ~2.55 EPS projection for the year.
• Shares trade near $37.39 (market cap ~$4.7B); the firm announced a monthly dividend of $0.1083 (≈3.5% yield) but with a high payout ratio of 146%, and the consensus analyst rating is Hold with a $39.43 target.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,743,203 shares, an increase of 22.5% from the February 26th total of 3,056,858 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 708,783 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.3 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company's stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PECO. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 248,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,856,000 after purchasing an additional 62,523 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $364,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 455,798 shares of the company's stock worth $16,213,000 after purchasing an additional 17,097 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $100,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. by 113.6% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 79,264 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,819,000 after buying an additional 42,155 shares during the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. stock traded up $0.58 on Monday, reaching $37.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 923,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 843,094. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.40 and a 52 week high of $40.06. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $37.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.81. The company has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.51.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.28). Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 4.29%. The business had revenue of $187.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $183.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.740-0.770 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.1083 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 146.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PECO. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Evercore set a $42.00 target price on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $39.43.

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. Company Profile

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in the acquisition, ownership and operation of grocery-anchored, necessity-based shopping centers. The company's investment strategy is centered on properties that benefit from everyday consumer demand, seeking to deliver stable cash flows through long-term, triple-net leases with national and regional tenants in the grocery, drugstore and essential retail sectors.

In addition to its core retail portfolio, Phillips Edison & Company provides integrated services covering property management, asset management, leasing, development and acquisition sourcing.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.