EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Receives $190.47 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $190.47.

EGP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up from $181.00) on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $174.00 to $194.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 141.6% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,855,920 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $458,347,000 after buying an additional 1,673,663 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $116,756,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 67.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,558,083 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $291,081,000 after acquiring an additional 629,827 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in EastGroup Properties during the fourth quarter worth $100,579,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in EastGroup Properties by 210.6% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 707,732 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $113,584,000 after purchasing an additional 479,873 shares during the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

EGP opened at $176.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.85, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $177.21 and a 200-day moving average of $174.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. EastGroup Properties has a 12-month low of $155.10 and a 12-month high of $192.61.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.99. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 35.57%. Equities analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 120.43%.

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.