Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys 760 Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,187 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 760 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $1,956,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EGP. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties during the 2nd quarter worth $783,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 90.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 536 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 26.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 4.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,555 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 32.1% in the third quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 2,286 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the period. 92.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EGP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $186.00 price target on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $174.00 to $194.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.88.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

Shares of EGP opened at $176.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $165.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.52. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.10 and a 1-year high of $192.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.75 billion, a PE ratio of 38.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.00.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.99. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 35.57%. On average, equities research analysts predict that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 120.43%.

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.