Metis Global Partners LLC Purchases 1,193 Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,008 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,193 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 3.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,863,129 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,233,785,000 after buying an additional 210,207 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in EastGroup Properties in the 2nd quarter worth $35,131,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 26.1% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 953,736 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $171,399,000 after purchasing an additional 197,427 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP grew its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 465.6% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 200,558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,054,000 after purchasing an additional 165,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 202.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 188,336 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,036,000 after purchasing an additional 125,991 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

EGP opened at $171.99 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $180.51 and a 200 day moving average of $176.67. The stock has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.54, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.23 and a 52-week high of $192.61.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.97). The business had revenue of $162.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.52 million. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 37.19%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This is an increase from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EGP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp raised their price target on EastGroup Properties from $178.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $186.00 price target on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $158.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Mizuho upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $175.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.21.

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.