Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Position in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,940 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,430 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.13% of EastGroup Properties worth $10,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in EastGroup Properties during the fourth quarter worth about $116,756,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 67.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,558,083 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $291,081,000 after acquiring an additional 629,827 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $100,579,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 210.6% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 707,732 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $113,584,000 after acquiring an additional 479,873 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in EastGroup Properties by 355.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 391,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $73,158,000 after purchasing an additional 305,555 shares in the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $174.00 to $194.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James raised shares of EastGroup Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. 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 report on Monday, December 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded EastGroup Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.47.

EastGroup Properties Stock Down 0.3 %

EGP opened at $176.19 on Monday. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.10 and a 12 month high of $192.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $176.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.99.

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

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. 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.