Regency Centers (NASDAQ:REG) Stock Price Up 0.7% – Still a Buy?

Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG) rose 0.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $73.32 and last traded at $73.33. Approximately 91,015 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 1,001,140 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on REG. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Regency Centers from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Regency Centers from $80.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Regency Centers from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Regency Centers from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.00.

Regency Centers Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $13.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.20, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $73.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.99.

Regency Centers (NASDAQ:REG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.61. Regency Centers had a net margin of 27.54% and a return on equity of 5.91%. Analysts expect that Regency Centers Co. will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Regency Centers Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.705 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. Regency Centers’s payout ratio is 133.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Martin E. Stein, Jr. sold 50,000 shares of Regency Centers stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.48, for a total value of $3,674,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 110,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,102,125.24. The trade was a 31.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Lisa Palmer sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.26, for a total transaction of $1,831,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 139,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,250,758.98. This represents a 15.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,000 shares of company stock worth $6,977,500 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in REG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Regency Centers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,262,425,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Regency Centers by 121.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,374,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,333,000 after buying an additional 2,944,854 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Regency Centers by 1,138.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,075,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,908,153 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Regency Centers by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,781,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086,797 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Regency Centers by 51.7% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 2,155,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,363,000 after purchasing an additional 734,210 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

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.