EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Stock Rating Upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan upgraded EastGroup Properties from “neutral” to “overweight” and set a $231 price target, implying approximately 14.15% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with 13 Buy ratings and five Holds; the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $221.37.
• EastGroup reported quarterly EPS of $1.40, beating the $1.31 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 9% year over year to $193.33 million. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the company.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $231.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.15% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on EGP. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on EastGroup Properties from $215.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on EastGroup Properties in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp upped their target price on EastGroup Properties from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on EastGroup Properties from $221.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Evercore set a $200.00 target price on EastGroup Properties in a report on Monday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $221.37.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

EGP stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $202.37. 948,881 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 404,261. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $200.82. EastGroup Properties has a one year low of $164.80 and a one year high of $226.71. The company has a market cap of $10.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.09. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.61% and a net margin of 40.47%.The business had revenue of $193.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.21 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. EastGroup Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.520-9.660 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 61,568 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $12,469,000 after acquiring an additional 1,684 shares in the last quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,420 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new stake in EastGroup Properties in the 2nd quarter worth about $202,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in EastGroup Properties in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 415.1% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 30,301 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $6,137,000 after acquiring an additional 24,419 shares in the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About EastGroup Properties

EastGroup Properties, Inc NYSE: EGP is a real estate investment trust that owns, develops, acquires and operates industrial properties. The company focuses primarily on business distribution space, including functional warehouse and light industrial facilities designed to support local and regional distribution, manufacturing and service businesses.

EastGroup concentrates its portfolio in major Sun Belt markets, with a presence in states including Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.