Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) by 13.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,961 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,515 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Easterly Government Properties were worth $243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 814.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,770 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 604.0% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,878 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 5,043 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Easterly Government Properties during the fourth quarter valued at $70,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Easterly Government Properties during the fourth quarter valued at $87,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $97,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Down 0.9%

Easterly Government Properties stock opened at $22.93 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $22.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.51. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 54.60 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 4.90 and a current ratio of 4.90. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.33 and a fifty-two week high of $36.31.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73. Easterly Government Properties had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 1.30%. The firm had revenue of $78.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. Easterly Government Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Easterly Government Properties Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a yield of 8.92%. Easterly Government Properties’s payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Easterly Government Properties from $27.50 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Compass Point restated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.75 target price (down previously from $37.50) on shares of Easterly Government Properties in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Easterly Government Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Easterly Government Properties from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Easterly Government Properties presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.15.

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.