EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Upgraded to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $194.00 price target on the real estate investment trust's stock, up from their previous price target of $174.00. Jefferies Financial Group's price target suggests a potential upside of 22.61% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of EastGroup Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on EastGroup Properties from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $191.56.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

NYSE:EGP traded down $2.27 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $158.22. The company had a trading volume of 275,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 303,449. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.69, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $169.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.39. EastGroup Properties has a one year low of $155.23 and a one year high of $192.61.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.97). The company had revenue of $162.88 million during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.95 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EGP. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 47.7% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 189 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 10,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 210 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 2nd quarter worth about $66,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 90.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 536 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at about $102,000. 92.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.