EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Announces Dividend Increase – $1.75 Per Share

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of 1.75 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, October 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This is a 12.9% increase from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.55.

EastGroup Properties has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 4 consecutive years. EastGroup Properties has a dividend payout ratio of 117.6% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect EastGroup Properties to earn $10.26 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 60.4%.

EastGroup Properties Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE EGP opened at $200.03 on Friday. EastGroup Properties has a 12 month low of $163.10 and a 12 month high of $226.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $207.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $199.85.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $193.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.61 million. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 40.47% and a return on equity of 8.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. EastGroup Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.520-9.660 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that EastGroup Properties will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on EGP. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $215.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Monday, July 27th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $218.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six 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 $221.11.

About EastGroup Properties

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.