EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Short Interest Down 14.3% in April

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,500,000 shares, a drop of 14.3% from the March 31st total of 1,750,000 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 510,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

EastGroup Properties Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE EGP traded up $2.45 during trading on Thursday, hitting $167.58. 89,965 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 369,452. The firm has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.04, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $168.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. EastGroup Properties has a 12-month low of $137.67 and a 12-month high of $192.61.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.01. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 35.57%. The business had revenue of $174.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $169.67 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. EastGroup Properties's revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that EastGroup Properties will post 8.94 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. EastGroup Properties's payout ratio is currently 122.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in EastGroup Properties by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,990,950 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,121,978,000 after buying an additional 72,199 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,673,663 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,579,515 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $253,496,000 after purchasing an additional 21,432 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,413,716 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $226,888,000 after buying an additional 273,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 234.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,222,064 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $215,267,000 after purchasing an additional 856,971 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EGP. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $189.00 to $183.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on EastGroup Properties in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $193.00 to $182.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $187.40.

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.