EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Monday morning.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $174.00 to $194.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up previously from $181.00) on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on EastGroup Properties from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.47.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EGP opened at $175.77 on Monday. EastGroup Properties has a fifty-two week low of $155.10 and a fifty-two week high of $192.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $9.14 billion, a PE ratio of 37.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.32.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 7.89%. As a group, equities analysts expect that EastGroup Properties will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is 120.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its stake in EastGroup Properties by 141.6% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,855,920 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $458,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673,663 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties during the fourth quarter valued at about $116,756,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 67.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,558,083 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $291,081,000 after acquiring an additional 629,827 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $100,579,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 210.6% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 707,732 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $113,584,000 after acquiring an additional 479,873 shares during the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.