EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,187 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $1,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in EastGroup Properties by 35.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,574 shares in the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 261.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,874 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 337.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 49,097 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,728,000 after purchasing an additional 37,863 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in EastGroup Properties by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 72,392 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,667,000 after buying an additional 4,176 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

EGP opened at $176.74 on Tuesday. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.10 and a twelve month high of $192.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.75 billion, a PE ratio of 38.01, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $165.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.52.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.99. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 35.57%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.17%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 120.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EGP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Raymond James raised EastGroup Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $200.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $174.00 to $194.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Eight equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.88.

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.