EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Position Lessened by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lowered its position in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 15.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $1,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EGP. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in EastGroup Properties in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in EastGroup Properties by 1,938.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 265 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Finally, SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 24.2% during the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 334 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

EGP opened at $184.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 40.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.75 and a 1 year high of $192.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $182.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.23.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.91). The business had revenue of $159.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.70 million. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 37.16% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.32 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. This is an increase from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is presently 121.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on EGP shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $158.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Mizuho upgraded EastGroup Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $175.00 to $200.00 in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $178.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $188.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.20.

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.