Aigen Investment Management LP Takes $531,000 Position in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA)

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP acquired 50,070 shares of Easterly Government Properties, valued at approximately $531,000, representing around 0.11% of the company's stock.
• Easterly Government Properties recently cut its dividend payout ratio to 175.61%, with a quarterly dividend of $0.45, translating to an annual yield of 8.0%.
• The company reported $0.74 EPS for the last quarter, meeting analysts' expectations, but revenue was slightly below estimates at $80.37 million.

Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 50,070 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $531,000. Aigen Investment Management LP owned 0.11% of Easterly Government Properties at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DEA. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 814.7% in 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 last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position 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 valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 5,043 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the first quarter valued at approximately $109,000. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DEA shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Easterly Government Properties from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $25.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered 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 decreased their target price on shares of 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.15.

Easterly Government Properties Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of DEA stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $21.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 518,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 475,445. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $22.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.60. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.33 and a 12-month high of $36.31. The company has a quick ratio of 3.75, a current ratio of 3.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $995.43 million, a PE ratio of 53.54 and a beta of 0.94.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.74. Easterly Government Properties had a net margin of 5.54% and a return on equity of 1.26%. The firm had revenue of $80.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.73 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Easterly Government Properties Cuts Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Easterly Government Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 439.02%.

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.