Is it a Wise Move to Buy EastGroup Properties (EGP) Shares?

Carillon Tower Advisers, an investment management firm, published its “Carillon Eagle Small Cap Growth Fund” fourth quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. Small-cap stocks overall posted minor gains in the final quarter of 2021. In what has become a common theme, the Russell 2000® Growth Index (up 0.02%) trailed its Russell 2000® Value Index (up 4.36%) counterpart for the fifth consecutive quarter. Sector returns across the Russell 2000 Growth Index were mostly positive, with the defensively oriented utilities (up 14.18%) and real estate (up 13.94%) sectors leading the way. Industrials (up 9.73%), financials (up 9.05%), and consumer staples (up 5.67%) also provided returns that outpaced the benchmark. Spare some time to check the fund’s top 5 holdings to have a clue about their top bets for 2022.

Carillon Eagle Small Cap Growth Fund, in its Q4 2021 investor letter, mentioned EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE: EGP) and discussed its stance on the firm. EastGroup Properties, Inc. is a Jackson, Mississippi-based real estate investment trust company with an $8.0 billion market capitalization. EGP delivered a -14.14% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are up by 33.65%. The stock closed at $195.64 per share on February 11, 2022.

Here is what Carillon Eagle Small Cap Growth Fund has to say about EastGroup Properties, Inc. in its Q4 2021 investor letter:

“EastGroup Properties is an equity real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on the development, acquisition, and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets across the United States. The stock has been an impressive performer as of late, as the firm continues to benefit from overall strong fundamentals in the industrial real estate market. Enterprises in a number of industries, but most notably retail e-commerce, are investing heavily in their distribution networks in light of the ongoing global supply chain issues. Positive migration trends in the Sunbelt markets where the company operates also have contributed to the firm’s recent success, leading to record occupancy rates and rental rate growth.”

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Our calculations show that EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE: EGP) failed to obtain a mark on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. EGP was in 13 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2021, compared to 11 funds in the previous quarter. EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE: EGP) delivered a -3.20% return in the past 3 months. You can find other letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2021 Q4 page.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.