EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

by · The Cerbat Gem

StockNews.com downgraded shares of EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP – Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Monday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on EGP. Mizuho raised EastGroup Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $175.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $198.00 to $193.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $214.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $178.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.57.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on EGP

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

EastGroup Properties stock opened at $171.16 on Monday. EastGroup Properties has a fifty-two week low of $155.23 and a fifty-two week high of $192.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.21 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.99.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.97). The firm had revenue of $162.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.52 million. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 37.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that EastGroup Properties will post 8.32 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. This is a boost from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is presently 115.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new stake in EastGroup Properties during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 10,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 30.2% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 345 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties in the second quarter worth $66,000. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

About EastGroup Properties

(Get Free Report)

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.

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