EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $190.80.

EGP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on EastGroup Properties from $180.00 to $179.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on EastGroup Properties from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. BNP Paribas raised shares of EastGroup Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $207.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $170.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th.

Insider Transactions at EastGroup Properties

In related news, EVP Richard Reid Dunbar sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,610,250. This represents a 8.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EGP. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties during the first quarter valued at $216,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 159,641 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,121,000 after acquiring an additional 8,701 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 2.0% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 28,443 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,916,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 2.9% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,696 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,236,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in EastGroup Properties by 6.0% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 12,427 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,189,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:EGP opened at $177.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.31, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.01 and a quick ratio of 0.01. EastGroup Properties has a one year low of $137.67 and a one year high of $188.89. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.03.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.28 by ($0.01). EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 35.58% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The business had revenue of $182.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. EastGroup Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. EastGroup Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.940-8.980 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 2.300-2.340 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is 130.25%.

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.