EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Now Covered by BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) in a research report report published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $190.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a neutral rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp raised their price target on EastGroup Properties from $188.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho reissued a neutral rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $181.00 target price for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $189.00.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:EGP opened at $155.66 on Monday. EastGroup Properties has a 52 week low of $154.75 and a 52 week high of $188.85. The company has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.25.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $1.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 110.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Brent Wood sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.74, for a total value of $456,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 102,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,752,230.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in EastGroup Properties by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 61,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,293,000 after acquiring an additional 8,002 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 361,853 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $66,414,000 after buying an additional 7,724 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 272,447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,370,000 after buying an additional 9,160 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 12.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 726,446 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $120,975,000 after acquiring an additional 81,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in EastGroup Properties by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,532,176 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,087,803,000 after purchasing an additional 81,798 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.