EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Shares Purchased by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) by 20.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,792 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 3,727 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $3,839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citizens National Bank Trust Department purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 74.2% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 364 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 387.4% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 424 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 31.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 447 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EGP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $199.00 to $187.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $189.00 to $183.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $193.00 to $182.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of EastGroup Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $188.00.

EastGroup Properties Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of EGP stock traded up $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $167.87. 440,637 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 382,847. The firm has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a PE ratio of 36.73, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.01. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.67 and a 1 year high of $192.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $169.33 and a 200 day moving average of $169.13.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $174.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.67 million. EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 34.60% and a return on equity of 7.41%. The company's revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. Analysts expect that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. EastGroup Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 122.54%.

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.