Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. $DEA

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 1.3%, owning approximately 2 million shares valued at around $21.22 million.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45, yielding 8.2%, despite an unusually high payout ratio of 439.02%.
• Analysts have revised their ratings on Easterly Government Properties, with one downgrade to "sell" and a consensus rating of "hold" with an average price target of $27.15.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,001,924 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 26,596 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 4.46% of Easterly Government Properties worth $21,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,221,717 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $118,950,000 after acquiring an additional 62,164 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the 1st quarter worth $120,000. Advyzon Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the 1st quarter worth $214,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the 1st quarter worth $1,249,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the 1st quarter worth $935,000. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DEA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Easterly Government Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Easterly Government Properties from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $25.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.15.

Easterly Government Properties Trading Up 3.2%

Easterly Government Properties stock traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.07. 523,042 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 531,924. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.31. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.33 and a 12-month high of $36.31. The firm has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 56.27 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 3.75, a quick ratio of 3.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) 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. Easterly Government Properties had a return on equity of 1.26% and a net margin of 5.54%.The company had revenue of $80.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.73 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. Easterly Government Properties's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Easterly Government Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.980-3.030 EPS. Research analysts expect that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Easterly Government Properties Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. Easterly Government Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 439.02%.

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.