Short Interest in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Declines By 16.3%

by · The Markets Daily

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP – Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,750,000 shares, a decline of 16.3% from the March 15th total of 2,090,000 shares. Currently, 3.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 498,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $174.00 to $194.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on EastGroup Properties from $175.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, EastGroup Properties has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $188.24.

Check Out Our Latest Report on EastGroup Properties

EastGroup Properties Price Performance

NYSE:EGP traded down $3.91 on Monday, hitting $156.00. The company had a trading volume of 38,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 365,129. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $172.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.61, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.94. EastGroup Properties has a 52 week low of $137.67 and a 52 week high of $192.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.99. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 35.57%. On average, research analysts anticipate that EastGroup Properties will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 120.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,264 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Optas LLC grew its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties during the 1st quarter valued at about $385,000. Finally, Bar Harbor Wealth Management increased its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 0.3% in the first quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 23,344 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,112,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

EastGroup Properties Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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