Liberty Mutual Group Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Liberty Mutual Group Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,993 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,700,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new stake in EastGroup Properties in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 10,400.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 24.2% in the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 334 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

EastGroup Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:EGP opened at $187.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $185.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.03. The stock has a market cap of $9.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.99. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.75 and a twelve month high of $192.61.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by ($0.91). EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 37.16% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The company had revenue of $159.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.32 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is an increase from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 110.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of EastGroup Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $167.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on EastGroup Properties from $172.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI raised EastGroup Properties from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $192.00 to $204.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $158.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.00.

EastGroup Properties Company 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.