Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Purchases 2,877 Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) by 211.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,237 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 2,877 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 31.9% during the first 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 during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 209,820 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,674,000 after acquiring an additional 4,484 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in EastGroup Properties during the fourth quarter worth $100,579,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 5.2% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 63,218 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $11,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,121 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the company's stock.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EGP traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $169.88. The company had a trading volume of 129,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 378,570. The company has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.01. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.67 and a 1 year high of $192.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $169.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.00.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.01. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 7.41% and a net margin of 34.60%. The business had revenue of $174.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $169.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.98 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. EastGroup Properties's payout ratio is 122.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on EGP shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on EastGroup Properties from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on EastGroup Properties from $175.00 to $172.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on EastGroup Properties from $194.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on EastGroup Properties from $199.00 to $187.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $188.00.

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.