Virtu Financial LLC Invests $273,000 in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,545,000 after acquiring an additional 3,574 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 337.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 49,097 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,728,000 after purchasing an additional 37,863 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in EastGroup Properties by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 5.5% during 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 buying an additional 23,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 4th quarter worth about $1,871,000. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EGP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James raised EastGroup Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $174.00 to $194.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up from $181.00) on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.47.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EGP opened at $176.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $176.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.66. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.10 and a 52-week high of $192.61. The company has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a PE ratio of 37.98, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.99.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 120.43%.

EastGroup Properties 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.