Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Boosts Holdings in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,548 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,076 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned 0.21% of EastGroup Properties worth $19,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EGP. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in EastGroup Properties by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in EastGroup Properties by 10,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties during the 2nd quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in EastGroup Properties by 90.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 536 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. 92.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

Shares of EGP stock opened at $170.25 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $175.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.43 billion, a PE ratio of 35.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.99. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.23 and a 52 week high of $192.61.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.97). The business had revenue of $162.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.52 million. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 37.19% and a return on equity of 8.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EGP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $198.00 to $193.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EastGroup Properties has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.21.

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.