Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 198,365 Shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. $DEA

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio has significantly reduced its holdings in Easterly Government Properties, Inc., selling 198,365 shares and holding 103,824, which is a 65.6% decrease.
• A number of institutional investors have recently increased or initiated positions in Easterly, contributing to 86.51% of the company's ownership by institutional clients.
• Easterly Government Properties reported earnings of $0.74 per share, meeting analysts' estimates, but also disclosed a high payout ratio of 439.02% for its recent dividend, raising concerns about its sustainability.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its holdings in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA - Free Report) by 65.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,824 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 198,365 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned about 0.23% of Easterly Government Properties worth $2,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DEA. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Easterly Government Properties in the first quarter worth approximately $109,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 12,846.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,487 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 10,406 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Easterly Government Properties in the first quarter worth approximately $120,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Easterly Government Properties in the fourth quarter worth approximately $121,000. Finally, Accel Wealth Management raised its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 20.0% in the first quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 12,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented 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 price objective for the company in a research note 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.15.

Easterly Government Properties Price Performance

Shares of DEA opened at $22.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 55.01 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 3.75 and a quick ratio of 3.75. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.33 and a 1-year high of $36.31. The company's fifty day moving average price is $22.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.58.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74. The firm had revenue of $80.37 million for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. Easterly Government Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.980-3.030 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Easterly Government Properties Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.0%. Easterly Government Properties's payout ratio is 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.

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