EastGroup Properties, Inc. $EGP Shares Bought by Boston Partners

Key Points

• Boston Partners increased its stake in EastGroup Properties by 13.8%, purchasing an additional 146,230 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately 1.2 million shares valued at $211.76 million.
• Institutional investors own 92.14% of EastGroup Properties, indicating strong confidence and support from major financial players.
• Shares of EastGroup Properties are currently trading at $164.31, with a recent quarterly earnings report showing an EPS of $2.21, slightly above analysts' expectations.

Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) by 13.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,202,462 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 146,230 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned 2.29% of EastGroup Properties worth $211,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in EastGroup Properties by 3.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,198,279 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,267,977,000 after buying an additional 207,329 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $226,888,000 after acquiring an additional 273,217 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 234.7% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 856,971 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in EastGroup Properties in the 1st quarter worth about $190,456,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in EastGroup Properties by 91.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 811,196 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $130,189,000 after purchasing an additional 387,134 shares in the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EGP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $193.00 to $182.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $215.00 target price on EastGroup Properties and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on EastGroup Properties from $183.00 to $182.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $189.31.

EastGroup Properties Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of EGP traded down $1.95 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $161.00. The company had a trading volume of 327,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 433,814. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.67 and a 1-year high of $192.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.41. The stock has a market cap of $8.59 billion, a PE ratio of 34.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.98.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 34.85% and a return on equity of 7.29%. The firm had revenue of $177.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $175.80 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.05 earnings per share. EastGroup Properties's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. EastGroup Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 120.95%.

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.