EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Shares Acquired by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 23,673 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $4,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EGP. Citizens National Bank Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,058 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in EastGroup Properties by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 56,609 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,972,000 after buying an additional 2,977 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 211.5% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,237 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 2,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in EastGroup Properties by 31.9% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EGP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on EastGroup Properties from $193.00 to $182.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen raised EastGroup Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $189.00 to $183.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $199.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $188.00.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

Shares of EGP opened at $169.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of 37.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $168.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.67 and a 12-month high of $192.61.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.01. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 34.60% and a return on equity of 7.41%. The company had revenue of $174.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.67 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.98 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 122.54%.

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.