EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Stock Position Lifted by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 9.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 190,158 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,200 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.37% of EastGroup Properties worth $33,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EGP. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in EastGroup Properties during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 387.4% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 424 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 36.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 556 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on EastGroup Properties from $194.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised EastGroup Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $199.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Barclays dropped their target price on EastGroup Properties from $193.00 to $182.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $189.00 to $183.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, EastGroup Properties presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $188.00.

EastGroup Properties Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of EGP stock opened at $173.91 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $9.13 billion, a PE ratio of 37.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average is $164.03 and its 200-day moving average is $169.01. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.67 and a 1 year high of $192.61.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $174.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $169.67 million. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 122.54%.

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.