EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Hits New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $193.00 to $182.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. EastGroup Properties traded as low as $159.18 and last traded at $163.34, with a volume of 450949 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.11.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on EGP. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $174.00 to $194.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James set a $190.00 price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.94.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EGP. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 141.6% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,855,920 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $458,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,673,663 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in EastGroup Properties by 234.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,222,064 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $215,267,000 after purchasing an additional 856,971 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $116,756,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $100,579,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 210.6% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 707,732 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $113,584,000 after buying an additional 479,873 shares during the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

EastGroup Properties Stock Up 0.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.31, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $169.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $174.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.67 million. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.98 EPS. Research analysts predict that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 122.54%.

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.