Canton Hathaway LLC Makes New Investment in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 190 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 4th quarter valued at $6,058,000. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 23,439 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,762,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 452,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $72,610,000 after acquiring an additional 23,626 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 4th quarter valued at $1,871,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Stock Up 0.8 %

EGP stock opened at $180.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $167.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.18. The company has a market cap of $9.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.90, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.10 and a 12 month high of $192.61.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.99. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 7.89%. As a group, analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 120.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on EastGroup Properties from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $186.00 price target on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $174.00 to $194.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.65.

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.