Castellan Group Takes $3.62 Million Position in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Castellan Group purchased a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 22,569 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $3,622,000. EastGroup Properties makes up approximately 1.6% of Castellan Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 26.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 4.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,555 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 32.1% in the third quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 2,286 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the period. Bar Harbor Wealth Management bought a new position in EastGroup Properties in the third quarter valued at about $4,321,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 5.3% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 11,427 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the period. 92.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EGP shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on EastGroup Properties from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $174.00 to $194.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $186.00 price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James raised EastGroup Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.88.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

NYSE EGP opened at $178.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a PE ratio of 38.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.10 and a 1-year high of $192.61.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.99. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 35.57%. On average, research analysts predict that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 120.43%.

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.