Brokerages Set EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Price Target at $191.56

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $190.88.

A number of analysts have recently commented on EGP shares. StockNews.com downgraded EastGroup Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $174.00 to $194.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $180.00 target price for the company.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

EGP traded up $2.82 on Monday, reaching $164.11. The company had a trading volume of 528,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 377,833. EastGroup Properties has a one year low of $155.10 and a one year high of $192.61. The company has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.91, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $166.94 and a 200-day moving average of $176.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 37.19% and a return on equity of 8.56%. The company had revenue of $162.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.52 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.95 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that EastGroup Properties will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. EastGroup Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 115.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,427,405 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $456,872,000 after acquiring an additional 49,268 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 67.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,558,083 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $291,081,000 after purchasing an additional 629,827 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 899,219 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $168,032,000 after buying an additional 10,435 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in EastGroup Properties by 7.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 728,092 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $123,848,000 after acquiring an additional 53,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 3.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 639,800 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $119,527,000 after acquiring an additional 22,328 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.14% of the company's stock.

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.