Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Trims Holdings in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. reduced its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 246,608 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 48,390 shares during the quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned approximately 0.50% of EastGroup Properties worth $39,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EGP. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in EastGroup Properties by 141.6% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,855,920 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $458,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,673,663 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in EastGroup Properties during the fourth quarter valued at about $116,756,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $100,579,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 210.6% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 707,732 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $113,584,000 after buying an additional 479,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 91.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 811,196 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $130,189,000 after buying an additional 387,134 shares during the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EGP traded down $1.61 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $165.21. The stock had a trading volume of 272,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 369,656. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $168.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.88. The stock has a market cap of $8.68 billion, a PE ratio of 35.53, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.67 and a 1-year high of $192.61.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.01. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 35.57% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The company had revenue of $174.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $169.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. EastGroup Properties's revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. EastGroup Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 122.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EGP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised EastGroup Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $193.00 to $182.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $187.00.

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.