Squarepoint Ops LLC Acquires 24,419 Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. $EGP

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its EastGroup Properties stake by 415.1% in the second quarter, purchasing 24,419 additional shares for a total holding of 30,301 shares valued at approximately $6.14 million.
• Analysts remain broadly optimistic on EGP, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $221.68; 12 analysts rate the stock Buy and six rate it Hold.
• EastGroup reported quarterly EPS of $1.40, exceeding estimates of $1.31, while revenue rose 9% year over year. The REIT also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.75, equal to a 3.5% annualized yield.

Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) by 415.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,301 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 24,419 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.06% of EastGroup Properties worth $6,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EGP. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 711,109 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $126,677,000 after acquiring an additional 34,515 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 29,516 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,260,000 after acquiring an additional 5,341 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in EastGroup Properties by 22.7% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 62,095 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $11,493,000 after purchasing an additional 11,504 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new position in EastGroup Properties during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,753,000. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its position in EastGroup Properties by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 42,705 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,607,000 after purchasing an additional 5,160 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on EGP shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on EastGroup Properties from $221.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Monday, July 27th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $221.68.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

EGP opened at $198.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.26 and a 12-month high of $226.71. The business has a 50 day moving average of $206.11 and a 200-day moving average of $200.38. The stock has a market cap of $10.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.75, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.01.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.09. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.61% and a net margin of 40.47%.The business had revenue of $193.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. EastGroup Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.520-9.660 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $1.75 dividend. This is an increase from EastGroup Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $1.55. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. EastGroup Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 122.81%.

EastGroup Properties Company Profile

EastGroup Properties, Inc NYSE: EGP is a real estate investment trust that owns, develops, acquires and operates industrial properties. The company focuses primarily on business distribution space, including functional warehouse and light industrial facilities designed to support local and regional distribution, manufacturing and service businesses.

EastGroup concentrates its portfolio in major Sun Belt markets, with a presence in states including Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

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