Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG) Short Interest Update

Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,920,000 shares, an increase of 23.0% from the November 30th total of 4,000,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on REG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Regency Centers from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Regency Centers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Regency Centers from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Regency Centers from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on Regency Centers in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.42.

Regency Centers Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ REG traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $73.93. 1,020,327 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,106,071. The company has a market cap of $13.42 billion, a PE ratio of 34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Regency Centers has a 52 week low of $56.51 and a 52 week high of $76.53. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.51.

Regency Centers (NASDAQ:REG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.50). The firm had revenue of $360.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $355.17 million. Regency Centers had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 27.78%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Regency Centers will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Regency Centers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.705 dividend. This is a positive change from Regency Centers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Regency Centers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 132.39%.

Institutional Trading of Regency Centers

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of REG. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in Regency Centers by 25,250.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in shares of Regency Centers by 300.0% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Regency Centers by 126.5% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Regency Centers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Regency Centers during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $92,000. 96.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Regency Centers

Regency Centers is a preeminent national owner, operator, and developer of shopping centers located in suburban trade areas with compelling demographics. Our portfolio includes thriving properties merchandised with highly productive grocers, restaurants, service providers, and best-in-class retailers that connect to their neighborhoods, communities, and customers.