EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on EGP. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $174.00 to $194.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James upgraded EastGroup Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $200.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on EastGroup Properties in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.88.

EastGroup Properties Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:EGP opened at $178.83 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $166.07 and a 200-day moving average of $175.49. The company has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a PE ratio of 38.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. EastGroup Properties has a 52-week low of $155.10 and a 52-week high of $192.61.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.99. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 8.27%. On average, equities analysts predict that EastGroup Properties will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 120.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EGP. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties during the 2nd quarter worth about $783,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 90.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 536 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in EastGroup Properties by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,555 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC lifted its position in EastGroup Properties by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 2,286 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

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.