EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Downgraded to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

EGP has been the subject of several other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on EastGroup Properties from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $207.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $200.00 price target on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $187.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, EastGroup Properties has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $194.41.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EGP opened at $183.85 on Friday. EastGroup Properties has a twelve month low of $137.67 and a twelve month high of $188.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $9.81 billion, a PE ratio of 38.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $179.88 and its 200 day moving average is $172.32.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.28 by ($0.01). EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 35.58% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The business had revenue of $182.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $181.88 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. EastGroup Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.940-8.980 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.300-2.340 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties will post 8.94 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 130.25%.

Insider Activity at EastGroup Properties

In other news, EVP Richard Reid Dunbar sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,610,250. The trade was a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canton Hathaway LLC raised its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 31.6% during the third quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC now owns 250 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in EastGroup Properties by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 999 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 2,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,489 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About EastGroup Properties

EastGroup Properties, Inc (NYSE: EGP) is a real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, development and management of industrial properties. Focused primarily on distribution-oriented facilities, the company’s portfolio consists of modern warehouse and light manufacturing buildings located in high-growth Sunbelt markets. EastGroup concentrates on delivering strategic logistics solutions to customers requiring proximity to transportation hubs and major population centers across the southern United States.

Since its founding in 1969, EastGroup has pursued a disciplined growth strategy that combines property development, targeted acquisitions and hands-on asset management.