Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 365,796 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 22,915 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.74% of EastGroup Properties worth $68,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties in the second quarter worth $32,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 47.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 10,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 210 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 345 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties during the second quarter valued at about $66,000. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on EGP shares. Mizuho upgraded EastGroup Properties from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $158.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $178.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $186.00 price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, EastGroup Properties currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $191.50.

EastGroup Properties Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:EGP traded up $2.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $176.00. 278,235 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 381,964. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.23 and a 52 week high of $192.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.36, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $181.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.06.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.97). EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 37.19% and a return on equity of 8.56%. The business had revenue of $162.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $161.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.95 EPS. EastGroup Properties's revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is an increase from EastGroup Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. EastGroup Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.70%.

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.