EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Price Target Raised to $236.00

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) had its price target lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $232.00 to $236.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $231.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Evercore set a $199.00 price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.94.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

Shares of EGP opened at $201.03 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $10.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.94. EastGroup Properties has a 52 week low of $174.21 and a 52 week high of $226.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $198.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.27.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.97). The firm had revenue of $199.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.51 million. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 41.05%. The company’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.27 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties will post 9.64 earnings per share for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EastGroup Properties news, CFO Staci Tyler sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.69, for a total transaction of $322,704.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,584 shares in the company, valued at $2,739,756.96. This represents a 10.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EGP. AlphaCore Capital LLC grew its position in EastGroup Properties by 91.4% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 4,470 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 2,134 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in EastGroup Properties by 15.5% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in EastGroup Properties in the third quarter valued at about $311,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its position in EastGroup Properties by 15.1% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,837 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,162,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 22,016.7% during the third quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321 shares in the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About EastGroup Properties

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.