Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Sells 263 Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. reduced its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,069 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 263 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $1,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 18.5% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 602 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties in the third quarter worth about $102,000. 92.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on EGP. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on EastGroup Properties from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $174.00 to $194.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised EastGroup Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial raised their target price on EastGroup Properties from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.47.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

EGP stock opened at $179.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $174.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.97. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.10 and a 52-week high of $192.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.57, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors 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 3.12%. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is currently 120.43%.

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.