LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / March 19, 2018 / Active-Investors has a free review on EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE: EGP) ("EastGroup") following the Company's announcement that it will begin trading ex-dividend on March 20, 2018. In order to capture the dividend payout, investors must purchase the stock a day prior to the ex-dividend date that is by latest at the end of the trading session on March 19, 2018. Active-Investors has initiated due-diligence on this dividend stock. Register with us for more free research including the one on EGP:

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Dividend Declared

On March 02, 2018, EastGroup announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.64 per share payable on March 30, 2018, to shareholders of record of Common Stock on March 21, 2018.

EastGroup's indicated dividend represents a yield of 3.05% compared to the average dividend yield of 3.72% for the financial sector. This dividend is the 153rd consecutive quarterly distribution to EastGroup's shareholders. The Company has increased or maintained its dividend for 25 consecutive years. The Company has increased the dividend in 22 years over that period, including increases in each of the last six years.

Dividend Insights

EastGroup has a dividend payout ratio of 56.8%, which mean that the Company distributes approximately $0.57 for every $1.00 earned. The dividend payout ratio reflects how much amount a company is returning to shareholders versus how much money it is keeping on hand to reinvest in growth, to pay off debt, and/or to add to its cash reserves.

According to analysts' estimates, EastGroup is forecasted to report earnings of $2.08 per share compared to the Company's annualized dividend of $2.56 per share. One of the primary reasons for the difference between earnings and annualized dividend is that EastGroup is a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) which is structured by law to distribute at least 90% of earnings. Moreover, since REITs generate income from owning portfolios of investment real estate, they are likely to have higher depreciation charges.

Since depreciation is a non-cash charge, it does not directly impact the ability of dividend the companies can distribute. For this reason, Fund from Operations (FFO) is calculated by adding depreciation and amortization to earnings and subtracting any gains on sales which then provides a better picture of any company's profitability and capacity to pay and to sustain dividends. For instance, for the quarter ended December 31, 2017, EastGroup's earnings was $0.51 per common share on a diluted per share basis compared to $0.46 for the same period of 2016.

On the other hand, for the quarter ended December 31, 2017, EastGroup's FFO attributable to common stockholders was $1.14 per share compared to $1.08 per share for Q4 2016, reflecting an increase of 5.6%. EastGroup's FFO number indicates that the Company should be able to comfortably cover its dividend payout.

About EastGroup Properties, Inc.

EastGroup, is a self-administered equity REIT 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. The Company's strategy for growth is based on ownership of premier distribution facilities clustered near major transportation features in supply-constrained submarkets. EastGroup's portfolio, including development projects in lease-up and under construction, as of March 2018 was at a total of 39.5 million square feet.

Stock Performance Snapshot

March 16, 2018 - At Friday's closing bell, EastGroup's stock slightly advanced 0.19%, ending the trading session at $84.01.

Volume traded for the day: 448.19 thousand shares, which was above the 3-month average volume of 215.04 thousand shares.

Stock performance in the last month ? up 4.50%; and past twelve-month period ? up 15.84%

After last Friday's close, EastGroup's market cap was at $2.91 billion.

Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio was at 34.42.

The stock has a dividend yield of 3.05%.

The stock is part of the Financial sector, categorized under the REIT - Industrial industry. This sector was up 0.3% at the end of the session.

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