Principle Wealth Partners LLC Purchases 12,700 Shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA)

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 boosted its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA - Free Report) by 106.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,640 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying 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 & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DEA. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 814.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 604.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,878 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 5,043 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Easterly Government Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $70,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Easterly Government Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $87,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Easterly Government Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $97,000. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Easterly Government Properties stock traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $22.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 215,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 438,391. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.27. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 54.45 and a beta of 0.94. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.33 and a 52 week high of $36.31.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.73. Easterly Government Properties had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 1.30%. The company had revenue of $78.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. Easterly Government Properties's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Easterly Government Properties Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 8.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Easterly Government Properties's payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on DEA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $27.50 to $22.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 2nd. 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 report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Easterly Government Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Compass Point restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $23.75 price objective (down from $37.50) on shares of Easterly Government Properties in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.