EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Cantor Fitzgerald

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) had its price objective trimmed by Cantor Fitzgerald from $235.00 to $220.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on EGP. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $268.00 to $246.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. KeyCorp raised their target price on EastGroup Properties from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $221.00 target price on EastGroup Properties in a research report on Friday, July 31st. BTIG Research lifted their target price on EastGroup Properties from $218.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on EastGroup Properties from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.24.

EastGroup Properties Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE:EGP opened at $194.81 on Monday. EastGroup Properties has a 52 week low of $172.17 and a 52 week high of $226.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $198.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $197.89.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.97). The business had revenue of $199.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.51 million. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 41.05% and a return on equity of 8.90%. EastGroup Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.27 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that EastGroup Properties will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 118.64%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Staci Tyler sold 1,600 shares of EastGroup Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.69, for a total value of $322,704.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,584 shares in the company, valued at $2,739,756.96. The trade was a 10.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EGP. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,553,186,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in EastGroup Properties by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,328,714 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $431,028,000 after acquiring an additional 24,910 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in EastGroup Properties by 3.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 799,996 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $148,070,000 after acquiring an additional 26,727 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in EastGroup Properties in the second quarter valued at $114,775,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in EastGroup Properties in the second quarter valued at $94,505,000. 92.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EastGroup Properties Company Profile

EastGroup Properties, Inc (NYSE: EGP) is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust that owns, develops, acquires and operates industrial properties. The company primarily focuses on functional, flexible warehouse and distribution facilities designed to serve local and regional businesses, including light manufacturing, service and last-mile distribution users.

Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, EastGroup concentrates its portfolio in major Sun Belt markets.