Prudential Financial Inc. Reduces Position in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 18.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. 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.’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $8,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EGP. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in EastGroup Properties in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in EastGroup Properties by 18.5% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 18.7% during the 4th 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. 92.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

EastGroup Properties Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of EastGroup Properties stock opened at $176.19 on Friday. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.10 and a 52-week high of $192.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $176.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.51. 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 company has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.89, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.99.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last issued 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 return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 35.57%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 120.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on EGP shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $174.00 to $194.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded EastGroup Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $185.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.