Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 12,371 Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,050 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 12,371 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.13% of EastGroup Properties worth $10,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EGP. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 35.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,545,000 after acquiring an additional 3,574 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 337.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 49,097 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,728,000 after purchasing an additional 37,863 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 452,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $72,610,000 after buying an additional 23,626 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 72,392 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,667,000 after buying an additional 4,176 shares during the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

EastGroup Properties Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:EGP opened at $178.90 on Thursday. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.10 and a 52-week high of $192.61. 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 company has a market capitalization of $9.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.99.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 120.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EGP shares. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 30th. StockNews.com raised EastGroup Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $174.00 to $194.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $181.00) on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.