9. EQUITY

General—The holders of common stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters voted on by stockholders, including one vote per nominee in the election of our board of directors (“Board”). Our charter does not provide for cumulative voting in the election of directors.

On May 6, 2020, our Board decreased the estimated value per share (“EVPS”) of our common stock to $8.75 based substantially on the estimated market value of our portfolio of real estate properties and our third-party investment management business as of March 31, 2020. The decrease was primarily driven by the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on PECO’s non-grocery tenants resulting from social distancing and stay-at-home guidelines and the uncertainty of the duration and full effect on the overall economy. We engaged a third-party valuation firm to provide a calculation of the range in EVPS of our common stock as of March 31, 2020, which reflected certain balance sheet assets and liabilities as of that date. Previously, our EVPS was $11.10, based substantially on the estimated market value of our portfolio of real estate properties and our third-party investment management business as of March 31, 2019.

Shares of our common stock were issued under the DRIP, as discussed below, at the same price as the EVPS in effect at the time of issuance.

Dividend Reinvestment Plan—The DRIP allows stockholders to invest distributions in additional shares of our common stock, subject to certain limits. Stockholders who elect to participate in the DRIP may choose to invest all or a portion of their cash distributions in shares of our common stock at a price equal to our most recent EVPS.

Stockholders who elect to participate in the DRIP, and who are subject to U.S. federal income taxation laws, will incur a tax liability on an amount equal to the fair value on the relevant distribution date of the shares of our common stock purchased with reinvested distributions, even though such stockholders have elected not to receive the distributions in cash.

On March 27, 2020, the DRIP was temporarily suspended. The March 2020 distribution was paid all in cash on April 1, 2020.

Distributions—On March 27, 2020, our Board temporarily suspended stockholder distributions, effective after the payment of the March 2020 dividend on April 1, 2020 as a result of the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, including the impact that the pandemic and the measures taken by governmental agencies and tenants in response to the pandemic are expected to continue to have on our shopping centers and our financial condition, liquidity sources, and capital needs.

Distributions paid entirely in cash to stockholders and OP unit holders of record subsequent to March 31, 2020 were as follows (in thousands, except distribution rate):



Month	Date of Record	Distribution Rate	Date Distribution Paid	Amount of Distribution Paid
March 2020	3/16/2020	$0.05583344	4/1/2020	$	18,541

Share Repurchase Program (“SRP”)—Our SRP provides an opportunity for stockholders to have shares of common stock repurchased, subject to certain restrictions and limitations. The Board reserves the right, in its sole discretion, at any time and from time to time, to reject any request for repurchase.

On August 7, 2019, the Board suspended the SRP with respect to standard repurchases. Our SRP for death, qualifying disability, or determination of incompetence was temporarily suspended effective March 27, 2020.

Convertible Noncontrolling Interests—Under the terms of the Fourth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership (the “Partnership Agreement”), Operating Partnership unit (“OP unit”) holders may elect to exchange OP units. The Operating Partnership controls the form of the redemption, and may elect to exchange OP units for shares of our common stock, provided that the OP units have been outstanding for at least one year, or for cash. As the form of redemption for OP units is within our control, the OP units outstanding as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 are classified as Noncontrolling Interests within permanent equity on our consolidated balance sheets. The distributions that have been paid on OP units are included in Distributions to Noncontrolling Interests on the consolidated statements of equity. During the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, 0.1 million and 0.7 million OP units were converted into shares of our common stock at a 1:1 ratio, respectively. There were approximately 42.7 million OP units outstanding as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019. Additionally, certain of our outstanding time- and performance-based equity awards will result in the issuance of shares or OP units upon vesting in future periods.