Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 914,532 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,313 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $146,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew 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 valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 18.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. waypoint wealth counsel lifted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 5,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 10,042 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,612,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EGP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Raymond James raised shares of 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up previously from $181.00) on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.00.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

Shares of EastGroup Properties stock opened at $152.60 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $176.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a PE ratio of 32.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.94. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.77 and a 12 month high of $192.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 forecast 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 given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is 120.43%.

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.