Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Raises Stake in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) by 10.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,217 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 2,501 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Easterly Government Properties worth $288,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 814.7% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,770 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 604.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,878 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 5,043 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the first quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Easterly Government Properties Price Performance

Shares of Easterly Government Properties stock opened at $22.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.90, a current ratio of 3.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a PE ratio of 53.92 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $22.60 and a 200 day moving average of $23.83. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.33 and a 52 week high of $36.31.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74. The company had revenue of $80.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.73 million. Easterly Government Properties had a return on equity of 1.26% and a net margin of 5.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Easterly Government Properties Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.1%. Easterly Government Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 175.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in 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 for the company in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised 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 note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Easterly Government Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.15.

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.