Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Invests $705,000 in EastGroup Properties, Inc. $EGP

Key Points

• Nicola Wealth Management LTD. invested $705,000 in EastGroup Properties, Inc., acquiring 4,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Analyst ratings for EastGroup Properties show a consensus of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $188.25.
• EastGroup Properties has increased its quarterly dividend to $1.55, up from $1.40, resulting in a 3.7% annual yield.

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $705,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd increased its position in EastGroup Properties by 5.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,161 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management increased its position in 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 buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC increased its position in EastGroup Properties by 5.1% in the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in 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 worth $363,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its position in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on EastGroup Properties from $183.00 to $182.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report 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 report on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $170.00 to $178.00 and gave the company 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 given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, EastGroup Properties currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $188.25.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EGP traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $166.83. 401,955 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 427,050. The company's 50-day moving average is $165.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.03, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.01. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.67 and a 1 year high of $192.21.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $177.29 million for 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 revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. EastGroup Properties has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 2.220-2.300 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 8.890-9.030 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.55 per share. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This is a positive change from EastGroup Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. EastGroup Properties's payout ratio is currently 133.91%.

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.