Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 751 Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 4.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 19,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 751 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $3,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in EastGroup Properties by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 58,026 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,650,000 after buying an additional 1,340 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in EastGroup Properties by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,854 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,910,000 after buying an additional 2,256 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,471 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,555,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 651.0% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,787,000 after acquiring an additional 13,164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

Shares of EGP opened at $186.29 on Friday. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.75 and a 52 week high of $192.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.41, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.15.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.91). The firm had revenue of $159.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.70 million. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 37.16%. EastGroup Properties’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. On average, analysts expect that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. This is an increase from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on EGP shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on EastGroup Properties from $188.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 31st. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $178.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on EastGroup Properties from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $189.53.

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.