D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Acquires 422 Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,635 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 422 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $583,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 5.2% during 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. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. waypoint wealth counsel grew its stake in EastGroup Properties by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 5,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $867,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,042 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,612,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,395 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EGP opened at $164.69 on Monday. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.67 and a twelve month high of $192.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $165.40 and its 200 day moving average is $169.26. 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 company has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a PE ratio of 35.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.01. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 35.57%. The firm had revenue of $174.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 122.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EGP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $175.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of EastGroup Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $194.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $189.00 to $183.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.60.

EastGroup Properties Company Profile

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.