Swiss National Bank Buys 1,900 Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,887 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.19% of EastGroup Properties worth $15,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EGP. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties in the 4th quarter worth approximately $116,756,000. FMR LLC raised 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 worth $291,081,000 after acquiring an additional 629,827 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 210.6% in 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 last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $73,158,000 after acquiring an additional 305,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 517,770 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $83,098,000 after acquiring an additional 174,630 shares during the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EGP. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $174.00 to $194.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $185.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "in-line" rating and set a $185.00 target price (up from $181.00) on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, EastGroup Properties presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.47.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

EastGroup Properties stock traded down $3.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $173.11. The stock had a trading volume of 1,083,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 329,279. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.99. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $175.44 and its 200 day moving average is $174.84. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $155.10 and a one year high of $192.61.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.99. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 7.89%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. EastGroup Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 120.43%.

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.