Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 48,157 EastGroup Properties, Inc. $EGP

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 48,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $8,151,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of EGP. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in EastGroup Properties by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 54,849 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,284,000 after purchasing an additional 7,212 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 43.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,985,543 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $336,076,000 after purchasing an additional 602,253 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in EastGroup Properties by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 82,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,912,000 after purchasing an additional 9,776 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in EastGroup Properties by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 61,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,403,000 after purchasing an additional 17,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 34.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 13,699 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,289,000 after buying an additional 3,480 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE EGP opened at $187.66 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.01 and a quick ratio of 0.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $187.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.44. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.67 and a 1 year high of $197.95.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 127.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on EGP shares. Evercore set a $188.00 price objective on EastGroup Properties in a research report on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $172.00 price objective (down from $180.00) on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.18.

About EastGroup Properties

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.