EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Shares Bought by FIL Ltd

FIL Ltd raised its position in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 6,635.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,341 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 20,039 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $3,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties during the 4th quarter worth $116,756,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in EastGroup Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $100,579,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in EastGroup Properties by 210.6% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 707,732 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $113,584,000 after acquiring an additional 479,873 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in EastGroup Properties by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,056,232 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $169,533,000 after acquiring an additional 268,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in EastGroup Properties by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 517,770 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $83,098,000 after acquiring an additional 174,630 shares during the period. 92.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

Shares of EastGroup Properties stock opened at $154.91 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $174.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $172.22. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.67 and a twelve month high of $192.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.31, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.94.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 7.89%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 120.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EGP shares. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial raised shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler set a $175.00 price target on shares of EastGroup Properties and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised EastGroup Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, EastGroup Properties currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.00.

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.