Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stake in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 64,940 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 4,430 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.13% of EastGroup Properties worth $10,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in EastGroup Properties by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,990,950 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,121,978,000 after buying an additional 72,199 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,427,405 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $456,872,000 after acquiring an additional 49,268 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 629,827 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,056,232 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $169,533,000 after acquiring an additional 268,359 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 899,219 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $168,032,000 after purchasing an additional 10,435 shares during the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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EastGroup Properties Price Performance

Shares of EastGroup Properties stock traded down $8.97 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $166.69. 381,803 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 347,276. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.67 billion, a PE ratio of 35.90, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $177.49 and a 200 day moving average of $174.32. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.10 and a fifty-two week high of $192.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts predict that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. EastGroup Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 120.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of EastGroup Properties from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $185.00 to $200.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on EastGroup Properties from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on EastGroup Properties from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of EastGroup Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $190.47.

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.