EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Short Interest Update

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,950,000 shares, an increase of 35.4% from the February 13th total of 1,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 404,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.8 days. Currently, 3.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EGP traded up $1.31 on Monday, hitting $181.23. The company had a trading volume of 463,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 323,573. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $9.43 billion, a PE ratio of 38.97, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.99. EastGroup Properties has a 52-week low of $155.10 and a 52-week high of $192.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of $173.91 and a 200 day moving average of $175.01.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.99. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 7.89%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that EastGroup Properties will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is currently 120.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on EGP. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up previously from $181.00) on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on EastGroup Properties in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $174.00 to $194.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.47.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 141.6% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,855,920 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $458,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673,663 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in EastGroup Properties in the 4th quarter worth about $116,756,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 67.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,558,083 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $291,081,000 after buying an additional 629,827 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $100,579,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 210.6% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 707,732 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $113,584,000 after acquiring an additional 479,873 shares during the period. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.