12,782 Shares in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Purchased by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 12,782 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,051,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EGP. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,427,405 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $456,872,000 after buying an additional 49,268 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in EastGroup Properties by 67.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,558,083 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $291,081,000 after purchasing an additional 629,827 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 899,219 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $168,032,000 after purchasing an additional 10,435 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in EastGroup Properties during the fourth quarter worth $116,756,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 210.6% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 707,732 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $113,584,000 after purchasing an additional 479,873 shares during the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EastGroup Properties Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of EGP stock opened at $179.96 on Friday. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.10 and a 1-year high of $192.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.70, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $173.08 and a 200-day moving average of $175.23.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.99. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 7.89%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is 120.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James upgraded EastGroup Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on EastGroup Properties from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of EastGroup Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.65.

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.