Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 7,507 Shares of Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX)

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 241,273 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 7,507 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Brixmor Property Group were worth $6,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Brixmor Property Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 825,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,968,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Brixmor Property Group by 109.3% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 1,680,482 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,785,000 after buying an additional 877,733 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Brixmor Property Group by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 185,161 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,155,000 after buying an additional 12,632 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in Brixmor Property Group by 406.2% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 1,516,041 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,207,000 after buying an additional 1,216,548 shares during the period. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Brixmor Property Group by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 155,739 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,336,000 after buying an additional 3,517 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Brixmor Property Group from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Brixmor Property Group from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Brixmor Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $28.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Brixmor Property Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Brixmor Property Group from $31.75 to $31.25 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brixmor Property Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.40.

Brixmor Property Group Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE:BRX opened at $25.56 on Thursday. Brixmor Property Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.32 and a 1-year high of $30.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $25.42 and a 200 day moving average of $26.96. The firm has a market cap of $7.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Brixmor Property Group (NYSE:BRX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. Brixmor Property Group had a net margin of 26.40% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The company had revenue of $337.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Brixmor Property Group Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brixmor Property Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be paid a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 2nd. Brixmor Property Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.52%.

Brixmor Property Group Company Profile

Brixmor Property Group, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust, which engages in owning and operating a portfolio of grocery anchored community and neighborhood shopping centers. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in New York, NY.