EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, a growth of 16.7% from the October 15th total of 1,320,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 336,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.6 days.

EastGroup Properties Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of EGP stock opened at $171.99 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $180.51 and a 200-day moving average of $176.67. The stock has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.00. EastGroup Properties has a 52-week low of $155.23 and a 52-week high of $192.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.97). EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 37.19% and a return on equity of 8.56%. The company had revenue of $162.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that EastGroup Properties will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This is a boost from EastGroup Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. EastGroup Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new stake in EastGroup Properties during the second quarter worth about $32,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 10,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 30.2% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 345 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties during the second quarter worth $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EGP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $209.00 target price on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $186.00 price target on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $214.00 to $199.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $158.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on EastGroup Properties from $204.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.21.

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.