EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Sets New 12-Month High at $201.35

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $201.35 and last traded at $201.35, with a volume of 968 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $191.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EGP. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $158.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded EastGroup Properties from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $214.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.00.

EastGroup Properties Trading Up 5.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $185.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.21 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

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

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a positive change from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is 121.48%.

Institutional Trading of EastGroup Properties

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in EastGroup Properties during the 4th quarter worth about $103,931,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,863,129 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,233,785,000 after purchasing an additional 210,207 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in EastGroup Properties during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,131,000. Boston Partners boosted its position in EastGroup Properties by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 953,736 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $171,399,000 after buying an additional 197,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP grew its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 465.6% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 200,558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,054,000 after acquiring an additional 165,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

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.