AQR Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in EastGroup Properties, Inc. $EGP

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in EastGroup Properties, Inc. by 16.4% during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 33,280 shares valued at approximately $5.86 million.
• EastGroup Properties declared a quarterly dividend of $1.55 per share, which represents a 3.7% yield and marks an increase from the previous dividend of $1.40.
• The company's most recent earnings report indicated an EPS of $2.21, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing an 11.4% year-over-year revenue growth to $177.29 million.

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) by 16.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,280 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 4,701 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of EastGroup Properties worth $5,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EGP. Citizens National Bank Trust Department bought a new stake in EastGroup Properties during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in EastGroup Properties by 1,035.7% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in EastGroup Properties by 74.2% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 364 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in EastGroup Properties by 387.4% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 424 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 31.9% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EGP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $183.00 to $182.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $215.00 target price on shares of EastGroup Properties and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $170.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, EastGroup Properties currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $188.25.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

NYSE EGP traded up $2.58 during trading on Thursday, hitting $168.52. 304,407 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 363,738. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.40, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.01. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.67 and a 12-month high of $192.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day moving average of $165.43 and a 200-day moving average of $167.70.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $177.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $175.80 million. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 34.85%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.05 earnings per share. EastGroup Properties has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.220-2.300 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 8.890-9.030 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This is a positive change from EastGroup Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. EastGroup Properties's 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.