National Bank of Canada FI Sells 9,498 Shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA)

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,407 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 9,498 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Easterly Government Properties were worth $459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 321,908 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,657,000 after buying an additional 1,071 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 48,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 21,435 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Easterly Government Properties by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 54,255 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Easterly Government Properties by 3.5% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 48,846 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $663,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637 shares during the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DEA. StockNews.com upgraded Easterly Government Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Easterly Government Properties from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Easterly Government Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $13.00 price target on the stock.

Easterly Government Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DEA opened at $9.55 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.01, a current ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.81 and a twelve month high of $14.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $10.62 and its 200-day moving average is $11.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.06 and a beta of 0.87.

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. Easterly Government Properties had a return on equity of 1.34% and a net margin of 6.25%. The company had revenue of $78.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. Easterly Government Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Easterly Government Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Easterly Government Properties’s payout ratio is 557.89%.

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.