EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) Short Interest Down 22.6% in January

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,370,000 shares, a decline of 22.6% from the December 31st total of 1,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 333,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

EastGroup Properties Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of EGP opened at $169.61 on Friday. EastGroup Properties has a 1 year low of $155.10 and a 1 year high of $192.61. The firm has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is presently 115.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EGP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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. Raymond James raised shares of EastGroup Properties from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $185.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of EastGroup Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.88.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 47.7% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 503.3% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 90.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 536 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.