Morgan Stanley Lowers EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Price Target to $180.00

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) had its price objective dropped by Morgan Stanley from $186.00 to $180.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 12.08% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on EGP. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 target price on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Raymond James upgraded EastGroup Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $185.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Mizuho raised EastGroup Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.40.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

EGP traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $160.60. 47,243 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 302,435. EastGroup Properties has a 1-year low of $155.23 and a 1-year high of $192.61. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $171.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.72.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $162.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.52 million. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 37.19% and a return on equity of 8.56%. EastGroup Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that EastGroup Properties will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in EastGroup Properties by 47.7% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of 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 period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 7.7% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,598 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 4.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,555 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.