Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Price Target to $12.00

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) had its price objective decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $15.00 to $12.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Easterly Government Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th.

Easterly Government Properties Trading Up 1.0 %

Easterly Government Properties stock opened at $11.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.01. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.95. Easterly Government Properties has a 52 week low of $10.76 and a 52 week high of $14.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.72 and a beta of 0.69.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $74.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.98 million. Easterly Government Properties had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 1.34%. Easterly Government Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. Analysts expect that Easterly Government Properties will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Easterly Government Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Easterly Government Properties’s payout ratio is 588.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Easterly Government Properties

In other news, CEO Darrell W. Crate acquired 10,000 shares of Easterly Government Properties stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.91 per share, with a total value of $109,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 171,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,870,835.89. This trade represents a 6.19 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Easterly Government Properties

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DEA. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 35.6% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 997 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 29.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 62.4% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the 2nd quarter valued at about $115,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the 2nd quarter worth $128,000. 86.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Easterly Government Properties Company Profile

Easterly Government Properties, Inc (NYSE: DEA) is based in Washington, DC, and focuses primarily on the acquisition, development and management of Class A commercial properties that are leased to the U.S. Government. Easterly’s experienced management team brings specialized insight into the strategy and needs of mission-critical U.S.