Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Buys 275,824 Shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. $DEA

Key Points

• Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 61%, holding approximately 728,311 shares valued at around $7.72 million.
• Recent analyst ratings for Easterly Government Properties include mixed reviews, with one analyst downgrading the stock to "sell" and BMO Capital Markets upgrading it to "hold".
• The company's quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share was recently cut, reflecting a potentially unsustainable payout ratio of 439.02% amid a 7.9% dividend yield.

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA - Free Report) by 61.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 728,311 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 275,824 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned 1.62% of Easterly Government Properties worth $7,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the 4th quarter worth about $252,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Easterly Government Properties by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 84,081 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $956,000 after purchasing an additional 6,211 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in Easterly Government Properties in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,320,709 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $15,003,000 after acquiring an additional 304,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 76.3% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 716,679 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,141,000 after buying an additional 310,161 shares during the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Easterly Government Properties Price Performance

NYSE DEA traded down $0.02 during trading on Monday, hitting $23.18. 102,109 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 585,442. The company has a current ratio of 3.75, a quick ratio of 3.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 56.53 and a beta of 0.96. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.33 and a fifty-two week high of $36.31. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $22.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.07.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74. The business had revenue of $80.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.73 million. Easterly Government Properties had a net margin of 5.54% and a return on equity of 1.26%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. 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 EPS for the current year.

Easterly Government Properties Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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 note on Wednesday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $27.50 to $22.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Easterly Government Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Easterly Government Properties has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.15.

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.