Analysts Set EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Target Price at $191.20

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $191.20.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EGP shares. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $178.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $179.00 to $214.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on EastGroup Properties from $188.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,863,129 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,233,785,000 after purchasing an additional 210,207 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 975,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $175,359,000 after buying an additional 71,614 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 953,736 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $171,399,000 after buying an additional 197,427 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 728,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $123,848,000 after buying an additional 53,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 646,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $118,679,000 after buying an additional 146,381 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

NYSE EGP opened at $187.50 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $9.03 billion, a PE ratio of 40.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.99. EastGroup Properties has a 52 week low of $154.75 and a 52 week high of $192.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $184.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.36.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.91). EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 37.16% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The business had revenue of $159.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.70 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. EastGroup Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that EastGroup Properties will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This is a positive change from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is currently 121.48%.

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.