Polymer Capital Management US LLC Invests $279,000 in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,736 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of EGP. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in EastGroup Properties in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in EastGroup Properties by 503.3% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in EastGroup Properties by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 602 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

Shares of EGP opened at $152.60 on Tuesday. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.77 and a 12 month high of $192.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $176.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.55. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.94 billion, a PE ratio of 32.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.94.

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

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is 120.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EGP. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up from $181.00) on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. Truist Financial raised their price target on EastGroup Properties from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $189.00.

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.