EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Key Points

• EastGroup Properties hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $217.00 after previously closing at $213.11, reflecting strong recent momentum in the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish: several firms raised price targets, and the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $213.06.
• The REIT recently posted Q1 EPS of $1.77, beating estimates, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.55 per share, equal to a 2.8% annualized yield.

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $217.00 and last traded at $217.8920, with a volume of 5581 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $213.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on EGP shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $213.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore set a $195.00 target price on EastGroup Properties in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $213.06.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a PE ratio of 39.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $204.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.19 and a quick ratio of 0.19.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $190.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.84 million. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 39.69% and a return on equity of 8.37%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.15 earnings per share. EastGroup Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.460-9.660 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. EastGroup Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EastGroup Properties news, Director David Michael Fields sold 504 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.77, for a total value of $98,668.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $691,263.87. The trade was a 12.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in EastGroup Properties by 18,900.0% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 950 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 28.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 190,144 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,494,000 after purchasing an additional 41,538 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 309.8% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 15,878 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,797,000 after purchasing an additional 12,003 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 2.2% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 6,103 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,075,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 1.9% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,668 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About EastGroup Properties

EastGroup Properties, Inc NYSE: EGP is a real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, development and management of industrial properties. Focused primarily on distribution-oriented facilities, the company's portfolio consists of modern warehouse and light manufacturing buildings located in high-growth Sunbelt markets. EastGroup concentrates on delivering strategic logistics solutions to customers requiring proximity to transportation hubs and major population centers across the southern United States.

Since its founding in 1969, EastGroup has pursued a disciplined growth strategy that combines property development, targeted acquisitions and hands-on asset management.

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