EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Price Target Cut to $172.00 by Analysts at Piper Sandler

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) had its target price lowered by Piper Sandler from $175.00 to $172.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on EGP. Jefferies Financial Group raised EastGroup Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $174.00 to $194.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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. Truist Financial raised EastGroup Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, EastGroup Properties has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $188.24.

EastGroup Properties Trading Up 1.0 %

EastGroup Properties stock traded up $1.63 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $159.69. 332,278 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 366,318. EastGroup Properties has a 12 month low of $137.67 and a 12 month 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. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $172.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $171.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.94.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties will post 8.94 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. EastGroup Properties's payout ratio is currently 120.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its position in EastGroup Properties by 141.6% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,855,920 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $458,347,000 after buying an additional 1,673,663 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties in the 4th quarter worth approximately $116,756,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in EastGroup Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $100,579,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 210.6% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 707,732 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $113,584,000 after purchasing an additional 479,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 91.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 811,196 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $130,189,000 after buying an additional 387,134 shares during the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.