EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Short Interest Up 5.1% in November

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,840,000 shares, an increase of 5.1% from the November 15th total of 1,750,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 347,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.3 days.

EastGroup Properties Stock Down 0.9 %

EastGroup Properties stock traded down $1.55 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $169.70. The stock had a trading volume of 299,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 302,217. The company has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.38, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50 day moving average price is $174.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.88. EastGroup Properties has a 52 week low of $155.23 and a 52 week high of $192.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.97). The firm had revenue of $162.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.52 million. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 37.19%. The company's revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.95 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that EastGroup Properties will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. EastGroup Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 115.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EGP. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $198.00 to $193.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $158.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EastGroup Properties presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $191.80.

Institutional Trading of EastGroup Properties

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 67.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,558,083 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $291,081,000 after acquiring an additional 629,827 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 355.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 391,594 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $73,158,000 after purchasing an additional 305,555 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in EastGroup Properties in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,131,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in EastGroup Properties by 202.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 188,336 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $32,036,000 after purchasing an additional 125,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vision Capital Corp acquired a new position in EastGroup Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $18,308,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.14% of the company's stock.

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.