Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 69,397 Shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA)

Key Points

• Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. by 154.0%, owning a total of 114,472 shares valued at approximately $1.2 million as of the latest filing.
• Several hedge funds have also made significant investments in Easterly Government Properties, with a combined 86.51% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock's outlook, with ratings ranging from "sell" to "hold" and a consensus target price of $27.15, although the company recently cut its dividend payout.

Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA - Free Report) by 154.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 114,472 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 69,397 shares during the period. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Easterly Government Properties worth $1,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DEA. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,394,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 74.6% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,861,478 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $21,146,000 after purchasing an additional 795,058 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the first quarter valued at approximately $7,487,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,056,248 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $23,359,000 after purchasing an additional 673,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 276.8% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 838,081 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,521,000 after purchasing an additional 615,688 shares during the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Easterly Government Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced 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. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Easterly Government Properties presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.15.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DEA opened at $22.22 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $22.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 3.75 and a quick ratio of 3.75. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 54.18 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.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74. The firm had revenue of $80.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.73 million. Easterly Government Properties had a net margin of 5.54% and a return on equity of 1.26%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Easterly Government Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 439.02%.

Easterly Government Properties Company Profile

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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