Heartland Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Position in EastGroup Properties, Inc. $EGP

Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 40.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 37,545 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 10,800 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $6,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EGP. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 159.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 161 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in EastGroup Properties during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Canton Hathaway LLC increased its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 31.6% in the third quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC now owns 250 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp increased their price target on EastGroup Properties from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays raised EastGroup Properties from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $203.00 price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI set a $188.00 target price on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore set a $188.00 target price on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.89.

EastGroup Properties Trading Up 1.9%

EGP stock opened at $190.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $183.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.70. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.67 and a fifty-two week high of $193.14. The firm has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a PE ratio of 39.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.01 and a current ratio of 0.01.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 127.31%.

EastGroup Properties Company Profile

EastGroup Properties, Inc (NYSE: EGP) is a real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, development and management of industrial properties. Focused primarily on distribution-oriented facilities, the company’s portfolio consists of modern warehouse and light manufacturing buildings located in high-growth Sunbelt markets. EastGroup concentrates on delivering strategic logistics solutions to customers requiring proximity to transportation hubs and major population centers across the southern United States.

Since its founding in 1969, EastGroup has pursued a disciplined growth strategy that combines property development, targeted acquisitions and hands-on asset management.