EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Shares Sold by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. cut its position in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,098 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EGP. Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties in 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% in 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 in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 18.5% in 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 in 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 valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties in the third quarter valued at about $102,000. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EGP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $174.00 to $194.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Truist Financial raised their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded EastGroup Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded EastGroup Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.65.

EastGroup Properties Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE EGP opened at $184.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.99. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.10 and a 12-month high of $192.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $171.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.31.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts expect that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 120.43%.

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.