Somerset Trust Co Has $254,000 Stock Holdings in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Somerset Trust Co decreased its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,581 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 168 shares during the quarter. Somerset Trust Co’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EGP. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 35.6% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,545,000 after buying an additional 3,574 shares in the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 261.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,737 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after acquiring an additional 4,874 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 337.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 49,097 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,728,000 after purchasing an additional 37,863 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 72,392 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,667,000 after purchasing an additional 4,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,223,000. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

EGP opened at $161.35 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.10 and a 52-week high of $192.61. The firm has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $166.46 and its 200-day moving average is $176.80.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.97). The firm had revenue of $162.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.52 million. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.56% and a net margin of 37.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EGP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 30th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $198.00 to $193.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $186.00 price target on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, EastGroup Properties presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.88.

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.