Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 24,910 Shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. $EGP

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,328,714 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 24,910 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in EastGroup Properties were worth $431,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EGP. Renaissance Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in EastGroup Properties by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its position in EastGroup Properties by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 2,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $432,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in EastGroup Properties by 1.9% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 263 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on EGP shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $217.00 price target on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Monday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on EastGroup Properties from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on EastGroup Properties from $215.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on EastGroup Properties from $218.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on EastGroup Properties from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, EastGroup Properties currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.18.

EastGroup Properties Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE EGP opened at $210.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.34 billion, a PE ratio of 38.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $204.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $159.37 and a 12 month high of $216.98.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.50. EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 8.37% and a net margin of 39.69%.The company had revenue of $190.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.84 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. EastGroup Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.460-9.660 EPS. On average, analysts expect that EastGroup Properties, Inc. will post 9.58 EPS for the current year.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. EastGroup Properties’s payout ratio is presently 112.73%.

Insider Transactions at EastGroup Properties

In other EastGroup Properties news, Director David Michael Fields sold 504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.77, for a total transaction of $98,668.08. Following the sale, the director owned 3,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $691,263.87. This represents a 12.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About EastGroup Properties

EastGroup Properties, Inc (NYSE: EGP) is a real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, development and management of industrial properties. Focused primarily on distribution-oriented facilities, the company’s portfolio consists of modern warehouse and light manufacturing buildings located in high-growth Sunbelt markets. EastGroup concentrates on delivering strategic logistics solutions to customers requiring proximity to transportation hubs and major population centers across the southern United States.

Since its founding in 1969, EastGroup has pursued a disciplined growth strategy that combines property development, targeted acquisitions and hands-on asset management.