US Bancorp DE Sells 1,873 Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE reduced its holdings in EastGroup Properties, Inc. by 25.3% during the first quarter, leaving them with 5,522 shares valued at approximately $973,000.
• EastGroup Properties recently reported an EPS of $2.21 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates by $0.01, with revenue increasing 11.4% from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.40, yielding 3.5% annually, although its payout ratio stands at a high 120.95%.

US Bancorp DE decreased its position in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) by 25.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,522 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,873 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE's holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $973,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 141.6% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,855,920 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $458,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673,663 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 234.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,222,064 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $215,267,000 after acquiring an additional 856,971 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 91.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 811,196 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $130,189,000 after acquiring an additional 387,134 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in EastGroup Properties in the first quarter valued at approximately $52,065,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,413,716 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $226,888,000 after acquiring an additional 273,217 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EGP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $194.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. 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. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $215.00 price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced 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 note on Tuesday, July 29th. Seven investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EastGroup Properties currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $189.31.

EastGroup Properties Stock Down 1.1%

EGP traded down $1.87 during trading on Thursday, hitting $162.32. The company had a trading volume of 79,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 433,223. The company has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a PE ratio of 35.06, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.98. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $137.67 and a one year high of $192.21. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $167.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $177.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. EastGroup Properties's dividend payout ratio is 120.95%.

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.