JACKSON,
Miss., Sept. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- EastGroup
Properties, Inc. (NYSE: EGP) (the "Company", "we", "us" or
"EastGroup") announced today its recent business activity.
Commenting on the Company's activity, Marshall Loeb, CEO, stated, "We continue to be
pleased by the resiliency of the Sunbelt, shallow bay industrial
market. Our year to date results remain in line to slightly ahead
of our forecast. Looking ahead, we are excited to see the market
opportunities that will be created given the rapid decline in the
industrial construction pipeline along with slowly improving tenant
demand. To take advantage of the potential opportunities, we
continue to improve the strength and flexibility of our balance
sheet."
In August, EastGroup acquired Hays Commerce Center 3 & 4,
which contains two industrial buildings totaling 179,000 square
feet in Austin, for approximately
$36,000,000. This property, which was
developed in 2022, is 100% leased to five tenants, increasing the
Company's ownership in Austin to
approximately 1,756,000 square feet.
As of September 4, 2024,
EastGroup's portfolio was 97.0% leased and 96.8% occupied. During
the third quarter of 2024 to date, 1,355,000 square feet of new and
renewal leases were signed with rental rate increases averaging
51.2% on a straight-line basis and 35.8% on a cash basis.
During the third quarter of 2024 to date, EastGroup began
construction of two development projects located in Houston and Austin which will contain approximately
310,000 square feet and have projected total costs of approximately
$40,000,000.
Also, during the third quarter of 2024 to date, the Company
executed five leases on development properties totaling
approximately 250,000 square feet.
During the third quarter of 2024 to date, EastGroup sold 162,100
shares of common stock directly through its sales agents under its
continuous common equity offering program at a weighted average
price of $185.07 per share, providing
aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of approximately
$30,000,000.
In addition, during the third quarter of 2024 to date, EastGroup
entered into forward equity sale agreements with respect to 502,958
shares of common stock with an initial weighted average forward
price of $186.56 per share and
approximate gross sales proceeds of $94,000,000, based on the initial forward price.
The Company did not receive any proceeds from the sale of common
shares by the forward purchasers at the time it entered into
forward equity sale agreements. Also, during the third quarter of
2024 to date, the Company settled outstanding forward equity sale
agreements that were previously entered into under its continuous
common equity offering program by issuing 300,502 shares of common
stock in exchange for net proceeds of approximately $49,000,000. As of September 4, 2024, EastGroup had 802,509 shares
of common stock available for settlement prior to the expiration of
the applicable settlement periods ranging from June 2025 to September
2025, for approximate net proceeds of $143,000,000, based on a weighted average forward
price of $178.25 per share.
Management is scheduled to participate in two upcoming
conferences:
- The 16th Annual Evercore ISI Real Estate Conference on
Friday, September 6, 2024
- Bank of America Securities 2024 Global Real Estate Conference
scheduled for Tuesday, September 10,
2024 through Wednesday, September 11,
2024
During the conferences, EastGroup executives may discuss the
Company's transaction activity, leasing environment, market trends
and conditions, financial matters and other business that may be
affecting the Company. Presentation materials that may be
referenced during the EastGroup presentations are available on the
"Investor Relations" page of the Company's website.
About EastGroup Properties, Inc.
EastGroup, 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. The Company's goal is to maximize shareholder
value by being a leading provider in its markets of functional,
flexible and quality business distribution space for location
sensitive customers (primarily in the 20,000 to 100,000 square foot
range). The Company's strategy for growth is based on ownership of
premier distribution facilities generally clustered near major
transportation features in supply-constrained submarkets.
EastGroup's portfolio, including development projects and value-add
acquisitions in lease-up and under construction, currently includes
approximately 60.3 million square feet. EastGroup Properties, Inc.
press releases are available at www.eastgroup.net.
Forward-Looking Information
The statements and certain other information contained herein,
which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology
such as "may," "will," "seek," "expects," "anticipates,"
"believes," "targets," "intends," "should," "estimates," "could,"
"continue," "assume," "projects," "goals," "plans" and variations
of such words and similar expressions or the negative of such
words, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and
are subject to the safe harbors created thereby. These
forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current views
about its plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and
prospects, which are based on the information currently available
to the Company and on assumptions it has made. Although the Company
believes that its plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and
prospects as reflected in or suggested by those forward-looking
statements are reasonable, the Company can give no assurance that
such plans, intentions, expectations, strategies or prospects will
be attained or achieved. Furthermore, these forward-looking
statements should be considered as subject to the many risks and
uncertainties that exist in the Company's operations and business
environment. Such risks and uncertainties could cause actual
results to differ materially from those projected. These
uncertainties include, but are not limited to: international,
national, regional and local economic conditions; the competitive
environment in which the Company operates; fluctuations of
occupancy or rental rates; potential defaults (including
bankruptcies or insolvency) on or non-renewal of leases by tenants,
or our ability to lease space at current or anticipated rents,
particularly in light of the impacts of inflation; disruption in
supply and delivery chains; construction costs could increase as a
result of inflation impacting the costs to develop properties;
acquisition and development risks, including failure of such
acquisitions and development projects to perform in accordance with
projections or to materialize at all; potential changes in the law
or governmental regulations and interpretations of those laws and
regulations, including changes in real estate laws or real estate
investment trust ("REIT") or corporate income tax laws, potential
changes in zoning laws, or increases in real property tax rates,
and any related increased cost of compliance; our ability to
maintain our qualification as a REIT; natural disasters such as
fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes; pandemics,
epidemics or other public health emergencies, such as the
coronavirus pandemic; availability of financing and capital,
increase in interest rates, and ability to raise equity capital on
attractive terms; financing risks, including the risks that our
cash flows from operations may be insufficient to meet required
payments of principal and interest, and we may be unable to
refinance our existing debt upon maturity or obtain new financing
on attractive terms or at all; our ability to retain our credit
agency ratings; our ability to comply with applicable financial
covenants; credit risk in the event of non-performance by the
counterparties to our interest rate swaps; how and when pending
forward equity sales may settle; lack of or insufficient amounts of
insurance; litigation, including costs associated with prosecuting
or defending claims and any adverse outcomes; our ability to
attract and retain key personnel; risks related to the failure,
inadequacy or interruption of our data security systems and
processes, including security breaches through cyber attacks;
potentially catastrophic events such as acts of war, civil unrest
and terrorism; and environmental liabilities, including costs,
fines or penalties that may be incurred due to necessary
remediation of contamination of properties presently owned or
previously owned by us. All forward-looking statements should be
read in light of the risks identified in Part I, Item 1A. Risk
Factors within the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form
10-K, as such factors may be updated from time to time in the
Company's periodic filings and current reports filed with the SEC.
The Company assumes no obligation to update publicly any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eastgroup-properties-announces-recent-business-activity-and-participation-in-upcoming-conferences-302240022.html
SOURCE EastGroup Properties
