Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Stake in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 650,612 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,812 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.31% of EastGroup Properties worth $104,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in EastGroup Properties by 503.3% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in EastGroup Properties by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in EastGroup Properties by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 602 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties during the third quarter worth $102,000. 92.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on EGP. Jefferies Financial Group raised EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $174.00 to $194.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised EastGroup Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EastGroup Properties has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.65.

EastGroup Properties Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE EGP opened at $184.51 on Monday. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.10 and a 1 year high of $192.61. The firm has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.68, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $171.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.25.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is 120.43%.

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.