Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG) Increases Dividend to $0.71 Per Share

Regency Centers Co. (NASDAQ:REG) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 5th,Zacks Dividends reports. Investors 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 yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This is an increase from Regency Centers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67.

Regency Centers has raised its dividend payment by an average of 3.3% per year over the last three years. Regency Centers has a payout ratio of 135.6% indicating that 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 Price Performance

Shares of REG stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.37. The stock had a trading volume of 919,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,098,453. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $73.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.27. Regency Centers has a one year low of $56.51 and a one year high of $76.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.38, a PEG ratio of 4.09 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 (NASDAQ:REG) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 5.85%. The business had revenue of $360.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $355.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.02 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Regency Centers will post 4.28 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

REG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Regency Centers from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Regency Centers from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. 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. Scotiabank increased their target price on Regency Centers from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Regency Centers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Regency Centers currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $77.08.

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.