EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Shares Sold by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR lessened its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,008 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 164 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in EGP. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 47.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 503.3% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings 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. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties during the third quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EGP opened at $179.64 on Friday. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $155.10 and a one year high of $192.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $166.53 and a 200-day moving average of $175.39. The company has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a PE ratio of 38.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.00. 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 (NYSE:EGP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.99. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 35.57%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 120.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on EGP. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised EastGroup Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $186.00 price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.53.

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.