EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Monday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $174.00 to $194.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James raised EastGroup Properties from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on EastGroup Properties in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $190.47.

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EastGroup Properties Price Performance

Shares of EGP traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $175.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 351,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 346,332. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $177.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.31. EastGroup Properties has a fifty-two week low of $155.10 and a fifty-two week high of $192.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.80, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.99.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.99. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 35.57%. On average, research analysts predict that EastGroup Properties will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. EastGroup Properties's dividend payout ratio is 120.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in EastGroup Properties during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 35.6% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,624 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,545,000 after buying an additional 3,574 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,061 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $291,081,000 after purchasing an additional 629,827 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 36.8% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 1,674 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. 92.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.