Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Stake in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $3,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EGP. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 503.3% in 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 last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in EastGroup Properties in the third quarter valued at about $102,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 602 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P purchased a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on EGP shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on EastGroup Properties from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $186.00 target price on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $174.00 to $194.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.65.

EastGroup Properties Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE EGP opened at $180.02 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $167.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.24. The company has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.00. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.10 and a 1 year high of $192.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.99. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 35.57%. On average, analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 120.43%.

EastGroup Properties Company Profile

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.