Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Price Target Cut to $12.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

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

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

Easterly Government Properties Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Easterly Government Properties stock opened at $11.47 on Thursday. Easterly Government Properties has a 12-month low of $10.76 and a 12-month 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. The company has a quick ratio of 4.01, a current ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $12.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.95.

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

Easterly Government Properties Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Easterly Government Properties

In related news, CEO Darrell W. Crate acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.91 per share, for a total transaction of $109,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 171,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,870,835.89. The trade was a 6.19 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

About Easterly Government Properties

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.