Somerset Trust Co Sells 168 Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Somerset Trust Co decreased its stake in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,581 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 168 shares during the period. Somerset Trust Co’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 47.7% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 7.1% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in EastGroup Properties by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 602 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 4.9% during the third quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 2,085 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,598 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

NYSE EGP opened at $161.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of 33.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.00. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.10 and a 52-week high of $192.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.80.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.97). EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 37.19%. The company had revenue of $162.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.52 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.95 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.34 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EGP has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $174.00 to $194.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $186.00 price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, EastGroup Properties presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.88.

EastGroup Properties 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.