Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 11,346 Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its stake in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,876 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 11,346 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.10% of EastGroup Properties worth $8,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new position in EastGroup Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 503.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

EGP stock opened at $176.19 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.51. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.10 and a 52 week high of $192.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.99.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.99. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 35.57%. Analysts anticipate that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is presently 120.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EGP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on EastGroup Properties from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of EastGroup Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on EastGroup Properties in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $174.00 to $194.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Nine 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, EastGroup Properties currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.47.

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.