Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,460,000 shares, a drop of 5.3% from the February 29th total of 9,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,570,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BRX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Brixmor Property Group in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Brixmor Property Group from $22.75 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Brixmor Property Group from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $24.00 target price (up previously from $23.00) on shares of Brixmor Property Group in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Brixmor Property Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brixmor Property Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brixmor Property Group

In other news, Director Michael B. Berman sold 10,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.82, for a total transaction of $239,039.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 40,556 shares in the company, valued at $925,487.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Brixmor Property Group news, Director Michael B. Berman sold 10,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.82, for a total transaction of $239,039.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $925,487.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian T. Finnegan sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $172,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 225,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,176,173. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brixmor Property Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Brixmor Property Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $407,000. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 44.2% in the 1st quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC now owns 14,689 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 4,504 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Brixmor Property Group during the 1st quarter worth $371,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its position in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 406,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,834,000 after acquiring an additional 21,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,190,584 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,166,369,000 after purchasing an additional 369,401 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Brixmor Property Group Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of BRX stock opened at $22.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.10. Brixmor Property Group has a 1-year low of $19.40 and a 1-year high of $24.47. The company has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Brixmor Property Group (NYSE:BRX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.27). Brixmor Property Group had a net margin of 24.50% and a return on equity of 10.63%. The company had revenue of $316.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $311.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Brixmor Property Group will post 2.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brixmor Property Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.273 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. This is a boost from Brixmor Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Brixmor Property Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 107.92%.

About Brixmor Property Group

Brixmor (NYSE: BRX) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates a high-quality, national portfolio of open-air shopping centers. Its 362 retail centers comprise approximately 64 million square feet of prime retail space in established trade areas. The Company strives to own and operate shopping centers that reflect Brixmor's vision to be the center of the communities we serve and are home to a diverse mix of thriving national, regional and local retailers.