Magnetar Financial LLC Takes Position in Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 31,620 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $359,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Easterly Government Properties by 157.6% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 59,187 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 36,210 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Easterly Government Properties by 101.5% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 24,716 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 12,452 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Easterly Government Properties by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 110,746 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,258,000 after buying an additional 12,073 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Easterly Government Properties by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 100,049 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,153,000 after buying an additional 29,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 24,895 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 6,333 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DEA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Easterly Government Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Easterly Government Properties from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Easterly Government Properties from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Easterly Government Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $13.00 price target for the company.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Performance

Shares of DEA stock opened at $10.45 on Friday. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.18 and a 12 month high of $14.53. The company has a current ratio of 4.01, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.03 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $11.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.14.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $78.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.49 million. Easterly Government Properties had a return on equity of 1.34% and a net margin of 6.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Easterly Government Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.15%. Easterly Government Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 557.89%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Darrell W. Crate bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.91 per share, with a total value of $109,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,870,835.89. This represents a 6.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Easterly Government Properties 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.