Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Trading Up 5% Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) were up 5% on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $11.41 and last traded at $11.34. Approximately 838,150 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 1,222,596 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.80.

The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.22. Easterly Government Properties had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 1.34%. The company had revenue of $78.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Easterly Government Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Easterly Government Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 588.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DEA shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Easterly Government Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday.

Insider Transactions at Easterly Government Properties

In other news, CEO Darrell W. Crate bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $10.91 per share, with a total value of $109,100.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 171,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,870,835.89. This trade represents a 6.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 8.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Easterly Government Properties

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Easterly Government Properties during the 4th quarter worth about $10,394,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 74.6% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,861,478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,146,000 after acquiring an additional 795,058 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,056,248 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,359,000 after acquiring an additional 673,270 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 276.8% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 838,081 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,521,000 after acquiring an additional 615,688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 196.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 901,102 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,237,000 after acquiring an additional 596,924 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Easterly Government Properties Trading Up 6.2 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.45. The company has a current ratio of 4.01, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.75 and a beta of 0.70.

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.