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

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $200.1765.

Several brokerages have recently commented on EGP. Robert W. Baird set a $203.00 target price on EastGroup Properties in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on EastGroup Properties from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $172.00 target price (down from $180.00) on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Thursday, December 4th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties in the fourth quarter valued at $281,054,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 43.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,985,543 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $336,076,000 after buying an additional 602,253 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in EastGroup Properties by 89.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 927,566 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $155,015,000 after buying an additional 438,117 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in EastGroup Properties by 98.4% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 566,295 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $100,880,000 after buying an additional 280,819 shares during the period. Finally, Centersquare Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 619.9% in the 3rd quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 297,319 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,324,000 after acquiring an additional 256,019 shares in the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EGP opened at $187.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a PE ratio of 38.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.01 and a current ratio of 0.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $187.33 and a 200-day moving average of $179.28. EastGroup Properties has a one year low of $137.67 and a one year high of $197.95.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 127.31%.

EastGroup Properties Company Profile

EastGroup Properties, Inc (NYSE: EGP) is a real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, development and management of industrial properties. Focused primarily on distribution-oriented facilities, the company’s portfolio consists of modern warehouse and light manufacturing buildings located in high-growth Sunbelt markets. EastGroup concentrates on delivering strategic logistics solutions to customers requiring proximity to transportation hubs and major population centers across the southern United States.

Since its founding in 1969, EastGroup has pursued a disciplined growth strategy that combines property development, targeted acquisitions and hands-on asset management.