EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Short Interest Up 16.7% in October

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, a growth of 16.7% from the October 15th total of 1,320,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 336,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.6 days.

EastGroup Properties Trading Up 0.6 %

EGP opened at $171.99 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $180.51 and its 200-day moving average is $176.67. EastGroup Properties has a 52-week low of $155.23 and a 52-week high of $192.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.00.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.97). EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 37.19%. The firm had revenue of $162.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.52 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that EastGroup Properties will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. This is an increase from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 115.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EGP. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 47.7% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 10,400.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 30.2% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 345 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties during the second quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EGP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $178.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $198.00 to $193.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on EastGroup Properties from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com downgraded EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded EastGroup Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.21.

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.