EastGroup Properties, Inc. $EGP Shares Acquired by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in EastGroup Properties, Inc. by 4.2%, now holding approximately 0.11% of the company, valued at $10.27 million.
• EastGroup Properties announced a quarterly dividend of $1.55, up from the previous $1.40, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.7%.
• EastGroup Properties reported a net margin of 34.85% and earnings per share (EPS) of $2.21, exceeding analysts' expectations for the quarter.

Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,313 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 2,353 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.11% of EastGroup Properties worth $10,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 76,182 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $12,232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,964 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 8,394 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,082 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in EastGroup Properties by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 3,635 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 1,659 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EGP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $215.00 price target on EastGroup Properties and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $170.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $176.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $183.00 to $182.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $188.25.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

Shares of EGP stock traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $165.87. The stock had a trading volume of 294,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 365,716. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.67 and a 1-year high of $192.21. The firm has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.83, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.01. The business's fifty day moving average is $165.39 and its 200-day moving average is $167.81.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.01. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 34.85% and a return on equity of 7.29%. The company had revenue of $177.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $175.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. EastGroup Properties's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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, research analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $1.55 dividend. This is a boost from EastGroup Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. EastGroup Properties's payout ratio is presently 120.95%.

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.