Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) Stock Holdings Lifted by Principle Wealth Partners LLC

Key Points

• Principle Wealth Partners LLC significantly increased its stake in Easterly Government Properties, acquiring 12,700 shares, bringing its total ownership to 24,640 shares, which are now valued at approximately $261,000.
• Easterly Government Properties recently reported earnings that met estimates, with an EPS of $0.73, and had a revenue of $78.68 million, showing an 8.1% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a dividend of $0.45 per share with a yield of 8.92%, although its payout ratio is concerningly high at 171.43%.

Principle Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA - Free Report) by 106.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,640 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 12,700 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Easterly Government Properties worth $261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Easterly Government Properties during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Easterly Government Properties during the 1st quarter worth $610,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Easterly Government Properties during the 1st quarter worth $129,000. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its position in Easterly Government Properties by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 81,002 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $859,000 after acquiring an additional 10,093 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Easterly Government Properties during the 1st quarter worth $223,000. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:DEA traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $22.65. 104,509 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 594,398. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.91 and a beta of 0.94. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.33 and a twelve month high of $36.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 4.90 and a current ratio of 4.90. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $22.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.21.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.73. The firm had revenue of $78.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.67 million. Easterly Government Properties had a return on equity of 1.30% and a net margin of 5.86%. Easterly Government Properties's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. On average, 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 dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a yield of 8.92%. Easterly Government Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 171.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Easterly Government Properties from $27.50 to $22.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Easterly Government Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Easterly Government Properties from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Compass Point restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $23.75 price objective (down previously from $37.50) on shares of Easterly Government Properties in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Easterly Government Properties currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.15.

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.