EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Given New $187.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) had its price objective cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $199.00 to $187.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on EGP. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $189.00 to $183.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $194.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of EastGroup Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 27th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.60.

EastGroup Properties Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE EGP opened at $172.58 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.43. EastGroup Properties has a 52 week low of $137.67 and a 52 week high of $192.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $174.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $169.67 million. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that EastGroup Properties will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 122.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Covestor Ltd grew its position in EastGroup Properties by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,161 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management grew its position in EastGroup Properties by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 23,344 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,112,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC grew its position in EastGroup Properties by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in EastGroup Properties by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,058 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in EastGroup Properties by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 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.