KBC Group NV Increases Stake in Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG)

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG) by 303.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 169,927 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 127,796 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Regency Centers were worth $12,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PGGM Investments grew its position in shares of Regency Centers by 2,586.9% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 1,670,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608,431 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Regency Centers by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,048,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $547,995,000 after buying an additional 873,062 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Regency Centers by 3.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,889,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,749,520,000 after buying an additional 830,572 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Regency Centers by 4.2% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,922,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $555,009,000 after buying an additional 357,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc boosted its position in shares of Regency Centers by 199.7% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 375,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,006,000 after acquiring an additional 249,929 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

REG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of Regency Centers from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded Regency Centers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Regency Centers from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. KeyCorp started coverage on Regency Centers in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Regency Centers from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Regency Centers presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.92.

Regency Centers Stock Performance

Shares of REG stock opened at $73.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $72.39 and a 200 day moving average of $67.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.37 billion, a PE ratio of 34.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 1.21. Regency Centers Co. has a 1-year low of $56.51 and a 1-year high of $75.26.

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

Regency Centers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.705 per share. This is a positive change from Regency Centers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Regency Centers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 132.39%.

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.