Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,502 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 4,240 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of EastGroup Properties worth $5,885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 47.7% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 189 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 10,400.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 210 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 30.2% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 345 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in EastGroup Properties during the second quarter worth $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.14% of the company's stock.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

EGP traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $175.22. The stock had a trading volume of 288,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 303,191. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.23 and a 1 year high of $192.61. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $181.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.32. The stock has a market cap of $8.68 billion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.97). The business had revenue of $162.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $161.52 million. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 37.19%. EastGroup Properties's revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.95 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. This is an increase from EastGroup Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. EastGroup Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 115.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $198.00 to $193.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on EastGroup Properties from $158.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $191.21.

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.