EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Upgraded to Outperform at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $204.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous price target of $192.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $176.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. BNP Paribas started coverage on EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. They set a neutral rating and a $167.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded EastGroup Properties from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $214.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Mizuho upgraded EastGroup Properties from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $200.00 in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on EastGroup Properties from $158.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $192.00.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

EastGroup Properties stock opened at $190.24 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $184.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.45. 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 company has a market cap of $9.16 billion, a PE ratio of 41.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.99. EastGroup Properties has a twelve month low of $154.75 and a twelve month high of $192.61.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last issued 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 company had revenue of $159.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.70 million. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 37.16% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties will post 8.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. This is a positive change from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.48%.

Institutional Trading of EastGroup Properties

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EGP. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 10,400.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 1,938.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 265 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

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.