Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 5,321 Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) by 44.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,763 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 5,321 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $1,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 452,429 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $72,610,000 after purchasing an additional 23,626 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,871,000. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 116.0% during the fourth quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 14,550 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,342,000 after purchasing an additional 7,813 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. grew its position in EastGroup Properties by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 209,820 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,674,000 after acquiring an additional 4,484 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in EastGroup Properties by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 650,612 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $104,417,000 after acquiring an additional 10,812 shares in the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $194.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $199.00 to $187.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays dropped their price objective on 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $189.00 to $183.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, EastGroup Properties has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $186.60.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

Shares of EGP stock opened at $172.58 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $166.37 and its 200-day moving average is $169.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of 37.11, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.05. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.67 and a 52 week 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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $174.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $169.67 million. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 35.57%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. EastGroup Properties's dividend payout ratio is 122.54%.

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.

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