Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Price Target to $12.00

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) had its target price reduced by Jefferies Financial Group from $15.00 to $12.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Easterly Government Properties from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Easterly Government Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th.

Easterly Government Properties Price Performance

Shares of DEA stock opened at $11.52 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.95. The company has a quick ratio of 4.01, a current ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.00 and a beta of 0.69. Easterly Government Properties has a 12 month low of $10.76 and a 12 month high of $14.52.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $74.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.98 million. Easterly Government Properties had a return on equity of 1.34% and a net margin of 6.25%. Easterly Government Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Easterly Government Properties will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Easterly Government Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.20%. Easterly Government Properties’s payout ratio is currently 588.89%.

Insider Transactions at Easterly Government Properties

In other Easterly Government Properties news, CEO Darrell W. Crate acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.91 per share, for a total transaction of $109,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 171,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,870,835.89. This trade represents a 6.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Easterly Government Properties

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 62.4% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $128,000. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.