EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $197.8889.

EGP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore set a $188.00 price target on EastGroup Properties in a report on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $172.00 price objective (down from $180.00) on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th.

EastGroup Properties Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of EGP opened at $190.88 on Tuesday. EastGroup Properties has a 12-month low of $137.67 and a 12-month high of $193.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $183.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $1.55 dividend. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 127.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in EastGroup Properties by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,350,473 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,244,141,000 after buying an additional 43,633 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,063,576 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $545,746,000 after acquiring an additional 200,617 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,683,711 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $458,320,000 after acquiring an additional 15,918 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,303,804 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $410,404,000 after purchasing an additional 318,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 4th quarter valued at $281,054,000. 92.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About EastGroup Properties

EastGroup Properties, Inc (NYSE: EGP) is a real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, development and management of industrial properties. Focused primarily on distribution-oriented facilities, the company’s portfolio consists of modern warehouse and light manufacturing buildings located in high-growth Sunbelt markets. EastGroup concentrates on delivering strategic logistics solutions to customers requiring proximity to transportation hubs and major population centers across the southern United States.

Since its founding in 1969, EastGroup has pursued a disciplined growth strategy that combines property development, targeted acquisitions and hands-on asset management.