EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Upgraded at Mizuho

Mizuho upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report report published on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $200.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior price target of $175.00.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on EGP. BNP Paribas began coverage on EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. They issued a neutral rating and a $167.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $188.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on EastGroup Properties from $178.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised EastGroup Properties from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $179.00 to $214.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, EastGroup Properties has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $191.20.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EGP opened at $184.94 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 40.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.99. EastGroup Properties has a fifty-two week low of $154.75 and a fifty-two week high of $192.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.91). The company had revenue of $159.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.70 million. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 37.16% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that EastGroup Properties will post 8.32 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This is a boost from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is 121.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EGP. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new stake in EastGroup Properties during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 10,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 1st quarter worth $42,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 1,938.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 265 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties during the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

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.