EastGroup Properties’ (EGP) “In-Line” Rating Reiterated at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI reiterated their in-line rating on shares of EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Evercore ISI currently has a $185.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior price target of $181.00.

EGP has been the topic of several other reports. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $174.00 to $194.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded EastGroup Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EastGroup Properties currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.47.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

NYSE EGP opened at $178.90 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $174.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. EastGroup Properties has a 1 year low of $155.10 and a 1 year high of $192.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.31 billion, a PE ratio of 38.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.99.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.99. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 35.57%. Analysts predict that EastGroup Properties will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 120.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,684 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 44.6% during the fourth quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 51,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,329,000 after acquiring an additional 16,000 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in EastGroup Properties in the fourth quarter worth $433,000. DigitalBridge Group Inc. lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 53,813 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,636,000 after acquiring an additional 4,350 shares during the period. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in EastGroup Properties in the fourth quarter valued at $142,000. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

About EastGroup Properties

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.