Short Interest in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Increases By 7.1%

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,350,000 shares, an increase of 7.1% from the September 15th total of 1,260,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 312,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EGP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on EastGroup Properties from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $179.00 to $214.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on EastGroup Properties from $176.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, September 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $191.73.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 3.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,863,129 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,233,785,000 after buying an additional 210,207 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in EastGroup Properties in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,131,000. Boston Partners boosted its position in EastGroup Properties by 26.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 953,736 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $171,399,000 after purchasing an additional 197,427 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its position in EastGroup Properties by 465.6% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 200,558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,054,000 after purchasing an additional 165,100 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 202.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 188,336 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,036,000 after purchasing an additional 125,991 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

EGP stock traded down $3.12 on Thursday, hitting $182.15. 399,060 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 295,055. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.99. EastGroup Properties has a 1-year low of $154.75 and a 1-year high of $192.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $184.31 and a 200-day moving average of $175.22.

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

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This is an increase from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 121.48%.

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.