American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 5,416 Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 5,416 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.35% of EastGroup Properties worth $28,995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in EastGroup Properties in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in EastGroup Properties by 10,400.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in EastGroup Properties during the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 1,938.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 265 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in EastGroup Properties in the 4th quarter worth $55,000. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on EGP. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $158.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $176.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded EastGroup Properties from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $179.00 to $214.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays raised their target price on EastGroup Properties from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, EastGroup Properties has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.00.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

NYSE:EGP opened at $189.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a PE ratio of 41.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $184.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.75 and a 12 month high of $192.61.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.91). EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 37.16%. The business had revenue of $159.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. This is a boost from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is currently 121.48%.

EastGroup Properties 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.