Inspire Investing LLC Grows Stake in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in EastGroup Properties by 503.3% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 602 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in EastGroup Properties by 90.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 536 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at $102,000. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EastGroup Properties Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:EGP opened at $169.40 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $165.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.10 and a 12-month high of $192.61. The firm has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a PE ratio of 35.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.00.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.97). EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 37.19% and a return on equity of 8.56%. The company had revenue of $162.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on EGP shares. Raymond James upgraded EastGroup Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $186.00 price target on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.88.

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.