Private Advisor Group LLC Sells 2,341 Shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA)

Private Advisor Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) by 8.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,341 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Easterly Government Properties worth $278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased 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 in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the fourth quarter worth about $70,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $87,000. Finally, Kaizen Financial Strategies acquired a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DEA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Compass Point restated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.75 target price (down from $37.50) on shares of Easterly Government Properties in a report on Thursday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Easterly Government Properties from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Easterly Government Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $27.50 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.15.

Easterly Government Properties Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:DEA opened at $21.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $979.72 million, a P/E ratio of 51.95 and a beta of 0.94. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.33 and a twelve month high of $36.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.06. The company has a quick ratio of 4.90, a current ratio of 4.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73. The business had revenue of $78.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.67 million. Easterly Government Properties had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 1.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Easterly Government Properties Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Easterly Government Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

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.