EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Short Interest Update

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,370,000 shares, a drop of 22.6% from the December 31st total of 1,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 333,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Institutional Trading of EastGroup Properties

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 47.7% during the 3rd 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 period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 7.1% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in EastGroup Properties by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 602 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 4.9% in the third quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 2,085 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, waypoint wealth counsel raised its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 5,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 92.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EastGroup Properties Stock Down 1.6 %

EGP opened at $168.44 on Thursday. EastGroup Properties has a twelve month low of $155.10 and a twelve month high of $192.61. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $165.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.42. The stock has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.80, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is 115.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on EGP. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James upgraded EastGroup Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $185.00 to $200.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Friday, October 25th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $186.00 price target on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.88.

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.