EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Shares Acquired by Boston Partners

Boston Partners increased its stake in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 26.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 953,736 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 197,427 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned approximately 1.98% of EastGroup Properties worth $171,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EGP. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties in the first quarter valued at $42,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 1,938.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 265 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties in the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EGP traded down $2.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $185.92. 233,315 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 290,819. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.75 and a 1 year high of $192.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.77. The stock has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.33, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.91). The company had revenue of $159.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.70 million. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 37.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were given a $1.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is currently 110.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on EGP. KeyCorp increased their target price on EastGroup Properties from $178.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $195.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $190.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on EastGroup Properties in a report on Monday, April 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.07.

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.