EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Share Price Breaks Above 50-Day Moving Average on Insider Selling

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) shares passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday following insider buying activity. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $199.16 and traded as high as $202.51. EastGroup Properties shares last traded at $199.8160, with a volume of 498,931 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on EGP. Truist Financial increased their target price on EastGroup Properties from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on EastGroup Properties from $221.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $218.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, EastGroup Properties has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.37.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $10.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $199.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.77.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.97). The company had revenue of $199.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.51 million. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 41.05% and a return on equity of 8.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.27 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 9.62 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This is a boost from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.64%.

Institutional Trading of EastGroup Properties

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,553,186,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 1.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,328,714 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $431,028,000 after buying an additional 24,910 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 3.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 799,996 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $148,070,000 after buying an additional 26,727 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties during the second quarter worth $114,775,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in EastGroup Properties by 38.8% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 501,286 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $92,783,000 after buying an additional 140,166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Company Profile

EastGroup Properties, Inc (NYSE: EGP) is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust that owns, develops, acquires and operates industrial properties. The company primarily focuses on functional, flexible warehouse and distribution facilities designed to serve local and regional businesses, including light manufacturing, service and last-mile distribution users.

Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, EastGroup concentrates its portfolio in major Sun Belt markets.