Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in EastGroup Properties, Inc. $EGP

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group boosted its stake in EastGroup by 16% in Q4 to 2,303,804 shares, representing about 4.32% ownership worth roughly $410.4 million.
• Multiple analysts have raised price targets and ratings, leaving a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $204.38 (Citigroup's target at $220).
• EastGroup beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.77 vs. $1.27), set FY2026 guidance at 9.460–9.660 EPS, and pays a $1.55 quarterly dividend (3.1% yield) despite a high payout ratio of 112.73%.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,303,804 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 318,261 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 4.32% of EastGroup Properties worth $410,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EGP. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 18,900.0% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 950 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 28.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 190,144 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,494,000 after acquiring an additional 41,538 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 309.8% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 15,878 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,797,000 after acquiring an additional 12,003 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 6,103 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,668 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on EastGroup Properties from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on EastGroup Properties from $195.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised EastGroup Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on EastGroup Properties from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised EastGroup Properties from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.38.

EastGroup Properties Trading Down 0.9%

EGP opened at $198.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.05. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $159.37 and a 52 week high of $203.60. The business's 50 day moving average is $192.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $190.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.84 million. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.37% and a net margin of 39.69%.The firm's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.15 earnings per share. EastGroup Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.460-9.660 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 9.56 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. EastGroup Properties's payout ratio is 112.73%.

EastGroup Properties Company Profile

EastGroup Properties, Inc NYSE: EGP is a real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, development and management of industrial properties. Focused primarily on distribution-oriented facilities, the company's portfolio consists of modern warehouse and light manufacturing buildings located in high-growth Sunbelt markets. EastGroup concentrates on delivering strategic logistics solutions to customers requiring proximity to transportation hubs and major population centers across the southern United States.

Since its founding in 1969, EastGroup has pursued a disciplined growth strategy that combines property development, targeted acquisitions and hands-on asset management.

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