EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Shares Acquired by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 26.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 47.7% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in EastGroup Properties by 503.3% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in EastGroup Properties by 90.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 536 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in EastGroup Properties in the third quarter worth $102,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 602 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $186.00 price target on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James raised shares of EastGroup Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $200.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.88.

EastGroup Properties Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of EastGroup Properties stock opened at $171.45 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.10 and a 1 year high of $192.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $165.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.91. The company has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.42, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.00.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. 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.