EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Short Interest Down 22.6% in January

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,370,000 shares, a drop of 22.6% from the December 31st total of 1,770,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 333,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:EGP traded down $0.62 on Friday, hitting $169.61. The stock had a trading volume of 260,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 352,248. EastGroup Properties has a 52-week low of $155.10 and a 52-week high of $192.61. The stock has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $165.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.27.

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 given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is presently 115.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake 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. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 261.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,737 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 4,874 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 337.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 49,097 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,728,000 after purchasing an additional 37,863 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in EastGroup Properties by 6.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com lowered EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James raised EastGroup Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $200.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $186.00 price target on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $198.00 to $193.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, EastGroup Properties currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.