Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Buys 62,381 Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 343,140 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 62,381 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned approximately 0.69% of EastGroup Properties worth $64,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EGP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in EastGroup Properties by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,863,129 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,233,785,000 after acquiring an additional 210,207 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new position in EastGroup Properties during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,131,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 26.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 953,736 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $171,399,000 after buying an additional 197,427 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 465.6% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 200,558 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $36,054,000 after purchasing an additional 165,100 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 202.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 188,336 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $32,036,000 after purchasing an additional 125,991 shares during the period. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EGP traded up $0.99 during trading on Friday, hitting $171.99. 362,927 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 385,976. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $180.51 and a 200 day moving average of $176.53. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.23 and a 52-week high of $192.61. The company has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a PE ratio of 35.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.97). The company had revenue of $162.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.52 million. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 37.19% and a return on equity of 8.56%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $1.40 dividend. This is a positive change from EastGroup Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. EastGroup Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of EastGroup Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $158.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. KeyCorp raised their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $178.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $186.00 target price on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $191.21.

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.