Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Position in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in EastGroup Properties by 9.6%, acquiring an additional 3,122 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately $6.3 million.
• EastGroup Properties reported a $2.21 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with an 11.4% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company recently announced a $1.40 quarterly dividend, yielding 3.5%, but has a high payout ratio of 120.95%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) by 9.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,773 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 3,122 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.07% of EastGroup Properties worth $6,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EGP. Bar Harbor Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 0.3% in the first quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 23,344 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,112,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC raised its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 5.1% in the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 3.5% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,058 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 1.1% in the first quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,521 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,149,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in EastGroup Properties by 3.6% during the first quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,264 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on EGP shares. Barclays cut their price target on EastGroup Properties from $193.00 to $182.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $215.00 price target on shares of EastGroup Properties and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $189.31.

EastGroup Properties Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE EGP traded up $0.66 during trading on Friday, hitting $162.56. The stock had a trading volume of 467,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 412,550. 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 company has a market capitalization of $8.67 billion, a PE ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $166.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.41. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.67 and a twelve month high of $192.21.

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

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. EastGroup Properties's dividend payout ratio is 120.95%.

EastGroup Properties 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.