Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.71 Per Share

Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 5th,Zacks Dividends reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of 0.705 per share on Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is a positive change from Regency Centers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67.

Regency Centers has increased its dividend by an average of 3.3% annually over the last three years. Regency Centers has a payout ratio of 135.6% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect Regency Centers to earn $4.47 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.82 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 63.1%.

Regency Centers Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:REG traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.37. 919,515 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,098,453. 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 stock has a market cap of $13.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.27. Regency Centers has a fifty-two week low of $56.51 and a fifty-two week high of $76.53.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on REG shares. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Regency Centers from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Regency Centers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Regency Centers from $69.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Compass Point upped their price target on Regency Centers from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Regency Centers in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Regency Centers has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.08.

Regency Centers Company Profile

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.