Cerity Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA)

Cerity Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,807 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,724 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Easterly Government Properties were worth $528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 494,419 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,241,000 after purchasing an additional 12,863 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Easterly Government Properties during the 1st quarter worth about $394,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 89,816 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $952,000 after purchasing an additional 15,599 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 862,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,146,000 after acquiring an additional 18,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 349,236 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,967,000 after acquiring an additional 91,811 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Easterly Government Properties Price Performance

DEA stock opened at $22.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.90, a quick ratio of 4.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.45 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.27. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.33 and a twelve month high of $36.31.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. Easterly Government Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Easterly Government Properties Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on DEA. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Easterly Government Properties from $27.50 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Compass Point reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.75 price objective (down previously from $37.50) on shares of Easterly Government Properties in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded 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 on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Easterly Government Properties currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.15.

Easterly Government Properties 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.