Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 1.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 899,219 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,435 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $168,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of EGP. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 67.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,558,083 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $291,081,000 after buying an additional 629,827 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 355.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 391,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $73,158,000 after acquiring an additional 305,555 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in EastGroup Properties in the second quarter valued at $35,131,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in EastGroup Properties by 202.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 188,336 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,036,000 after purchasing an additional 125,991 shares during the period. Finally, Vision Capital Corp bought a new position in EastGroup Properties in the 3rd quarter worth $18,308,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE EGP opened at $171.25 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $174.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.88. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.23 and a 52-week high of $192.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $8.48 billion, a PE ratio of 35.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.99.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.97). The business had revenue of $162.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.52 million. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 37.19% and a return on equity of 8.56%. The business’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.95 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EGP. Barclays cut their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $198.00 to $193.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on EastGroup Properties from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Raymond James raised EastGroup Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.80.

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.