EastGroup Properties, Inc. $EGP Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Holdings

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,869 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,438 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $10,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. North Dakota State Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 3.7% in the third quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 1,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 4.2% during the second quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 1,554 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 3.9% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,016 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its position in EastGroup Properties by 115.9% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in EastGroup Properties by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,174 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $845,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

EastGroup Properties stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $193.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 547,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 563,197. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $174.57 and a 12 month high of $226.71. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $198.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.34. The company has a market capitalization of $10.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.94.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.97). EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 41.05%. The business had revenue of $199.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.51 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.27 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 9.64 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 given a $1.75 dividend. This is an increase from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 118.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EGP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on EastGroup Properties from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered EastGroup Properties from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on EastGroup Properties from $232.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, EastGroup Properties currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Staci Tyler sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.69, for a total transaction of $322,704.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,739,756.96. This represents a 10.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.