State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Raises Position in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 36,557 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,728 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $5,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in EastGroup Properties by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in EastGroup Properties by 503.3% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in EastGroup Properties by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 602 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

NYSE EGP opened at $179.61 on Wednesday. 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 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $166.83 and a 200-day moving average of $175.20.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.99. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 8.27%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 120.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 30th. 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 research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $186.00 price target on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.53.

EastGroup Properties 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.