EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EGP. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 67.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,558,083 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $291,081,000 after purchasing an additional 629,827 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 355.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 391,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $73,158,000 after buying an additional 305,555 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 517,770 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $83,098,000 after buying an additional 174,630 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 202.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 188,336 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,036,000 after buying an additional 125,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vision Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $18,308,000. 92.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on EGP shares. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $186.00 price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.88.

EastGroup Properties Trading Down 0.4 %

EastGroup Properties stock traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $169.61. The company had a trading volume of 260,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 352,248. The firm has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $165.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.27. EastGroup Properties has a 1 year low of $155.10 and a 1 year high of $192.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is currently 115.70%.

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.