Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 384,530 Shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. $DEA

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. significantly reduced its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 82.3%, selling 384,530 shares, leaving it with 82,607 shares valued at approximately $876,000.
• The company reported $0.74 earnings per share in its latest quarter, matching analysts' estimates, though revenue was slightly below expectations at $80.37 million.
• Easterly Government Properties has announced a dividend of $0.45 per share, leading to a high dividend payout ratio of 439.02%, with an annual yield of 7.9%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its holdings in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA - Free Report) by 82.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,607 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 384,530 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.18% of Easterly Government Properties worth $876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 10.9% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 43,477 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 4,273 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 27.2% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 314,854 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,337,000 after purchasing an additional 67,373 shares during the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 543.8% during the first quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 703,758 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,460,000 after purchasing an additional 594,449 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Easterly Government Properties during the first quarter valued at approximately $7,487,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Easterly Government Properties during the first quarter valued at approximately $531,000. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DEA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Easterly Government Properties from $27.50 to $22.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report 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 upgraded Easterly Government Properties from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $25.00 price target 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.15.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Performance

DEA traded up $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.90. 248,998 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 584,692. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.33 and a fifty-two week high of $36.31. The company has a quick ratio of 3.75, a current ratio of 3.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.91 and a beta of 0.96.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74. Easterly Government Properties had a net margin of 5.54% and a return on equity of 1.26%. The firm had revenue of $80.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.73 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Easterly Government Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.980-3.030 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Easterly Government Properties Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Shareholders 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 7.9%. Easterly Government Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.