Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Makes New Investment in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired 20,455 shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc., valued at approximately $3.6 million, during the 1st quarter of the year.
• Recent analyses show a mixed sentiment around EastGroup Properties, with price targets being adjusted by several firms, resulting in an average price target of $189.31 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $2.21 per share, surpassing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.40 per share, yielding 3.5%.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 20,455 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $3,603,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $458,347,000 after buying an additional 1,673,663 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in EastGroup Properties by 234.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,222,064 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $215,267,000 after acquiring an additional 856,971 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 91.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 811,196 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $130,189,000 after acquiring an additional 387,134 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties during the 1st quarter worth approximately $52,065,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 273,217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $175.00 to $172.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $215.00 target price on EastGroup Properties and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on EastGroup Properties from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, EastGroup Properties has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $189.31.

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

Shares of EastGroup Properties stock traded down $1.06 on Monday, hitting $160.04. 62,096 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 436,533. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $167.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.98. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.67 and a 1-year high of $192.21.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $177.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $175.80 million. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 34.85%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is 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.