Montag A & Associates Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA)

Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 12,180 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $129,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Easterly Government Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $514,000. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Easterly Government Properties during the 1st quarter worth approximately $394,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Easterly Government Properties by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 494,419 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,241,000 after buying an additional 12,863 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its position in Easterly Government Properties by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 89,816 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $952,000 after buying an additional 15,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in Easterly Government Properties during the 1st quarter worth approximately $223,000. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Easterly Government Properties Price Performance

NYSE DEA traded down $0.61 on Thursday, hitting $22.76. The company had a trading volume of 253,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 599,781. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.33 and a 12-month high of $36.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 4.90 and a quick ratio of 4.90. The company's fifty day moving average price is $22.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.36. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 54.22 and a beta of 0.94.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting 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 analysts' expectations of $80.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Easterly Government Properties Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Easterly Government Properties from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $25.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price 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. 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 reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $23.75 target price (down 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 issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.