First American Trust FSB Purchases Shares of 1,758 EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

First American Trust FSB acquired a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,758 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $282,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in EastGroup Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Canton Hathaway LLC bought a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in EastGroup Properties by 503.3% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in EastGroup Properties by 18.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew 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 worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up previously from $181.00) on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com raised EastGroup Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.47.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

Shares of EGP opened at $175.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.62. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.10 and a 52-week high of $192.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.12 billion, a PE ratio of 37.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.99.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.99. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 7.89%. Sell-side analysts predict that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio 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.