Nuveen LLC Takes $7.49 Million Position in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. $DEA

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Easterly Government Properties, buying 706,331 shares valued at approximately $7.5 million, representing 1.57% ownership in the company.
• After the most recent earnings report, the stock has a consensus target price of $27.15, with brokerages issuing ratings that range from "Buy" to "Sell."
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, resulting in an 8.0% yield, although the payout ratio is high at 439.02%.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 706,331 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $7,487,000. Nuveen LLC owned 1.57% of Easterly Government Properties at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 604.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,878 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 5,043 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Easterly Government Properties during the 4th quarter worth $70,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Easterly Government Properties during the 4th quarter worth $87,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Easterly Government Properties during the 1st quarter worth $109,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 182.2% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 10,445 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 6,744 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on DEA. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Easterly Government Properties from $27.50 to $22.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Easterly Government Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Easterly Government Properties from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $25.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Easterly Government Properties has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.15.

Easterly Government Properties Trading Down 0.2%

DEA traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $22.81. 394,385 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 584,476. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.64 and a beta of 0.94. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.33 and a 1-year high of $36.31. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $22.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.28. The company has a quick ratio of 3.75, a current 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, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.74. The firm had revenue of $80.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.73 million. Easterly Government Properties had a return on equity of 1.26% and a net margin of 5.54%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. Easterly Government Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.980-3.030 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Easterly Government Properties Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. Easterly Government Properties's payout ratio is currently 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.