EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Reaches New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $149.77 and last traded at $150.61, with a volume of 46034 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $160.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EGP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up from $181.00) on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $174.00 to $194.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, EastGroup Properties presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $189.00.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $175.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 33.64, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.94.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities research analysts expect that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is currently 120.43%.

Institutional Trading of EastGroup Properties

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EGP. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 337.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 49,097 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,728,000 after purchasing an additional 37,863 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in EastGroup Properties by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 23,626 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,871,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 72,392 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,667,000 after acquiring an additional 4,176 shares during the period. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About EastGroup Properties

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.