EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $191.50.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EGP shares. StockNews.com cut shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho upgraded EastGroup Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on EastGroup Properties from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. KeyCorp raised their price target on EastGroup Properties from $178.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $186.00 price target on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

EastGroup Properties Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE EGP opened at $172.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.56 billion, a PE ratio of 35.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $182.61 and its 200 day moving average is $175.70. EastGroup Properties has a twelve month low of $155.23 and a twelve month high of $192.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.97). The firm had revenue of $162.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.52 million. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 37.19% and a return on equity of 8.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.95 EPS. Research analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is currently 115.70%.

Institutional Trading of EastGroup Properties

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of EGP. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties in the second quarter worth about $32,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in EastGroup Properties by 47.7% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in EastGroup Properties by 30.2% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 345 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in EastGroup Properties in the second quarter worth approximately $66,000. Institutional investors 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.