GAMMA Investing LLC Sells 128 Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

GAMMA Investing LLC trimmed its position in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 23.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 408 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 128 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $65,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in EastGroup Properties by 35.6% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,545,000 after buying an additional 3,574 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 261.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,737 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,259,000 after acquiring an additional 4,874 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 337.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 49,097 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,728,000 after acquiring an additional 37,863 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in EastGroup Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,223,000. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,555 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on EGP shares. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $174.00 to $194.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on EastGroup Properties from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.56.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

EGP opened at $155.91 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.10 and a 52-week high of $192.61. The firm has a market cap of $7.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $167.67 and its 200-day moving average is $177.18.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.97). The firm had revenue of $162.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.52 million. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 37.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.70%.

About EastGroup Properties

EastGroup Properties, Inc (NYSE: EGP), a member of the S&P Mid-Cap 400 and Russell 1000 Indexes, is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina.