B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Acquires New Shares in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 18,531 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $3,462,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 30.2% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 345 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 2,085 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in EastGroup Properties by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 31,093 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,328,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on EastGroup Properties from $158.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. KeyCorp raised their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $178.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.21.

EastGroup Properties Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE EGP opened at $171.01 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $179.76 and a 200-day moving average of $176.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.33, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.00. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.23 and a 12 month high of $192.61.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.97). The company had revenue of $162.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.52 million. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 37.19%. EastGroup Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.95 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. This is a positive change from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is 115.70%.

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.