Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Price Target to $12.00

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) had its price target cut by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $15.00 to $12.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 5.82% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on DEA. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Easterly Government Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:DEA traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $11.34. The stock had a trading volume of 187,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 985,581. Easterly Government Properties has a twelve month low of $10.76 and a twelve month high of $14.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.01. The stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.00 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.96.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.24). Easterly Government Properties had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 1.34%. The business had revenue of $74.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Easterly Government Properties will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Easterly Government Properties news, CEO Darrell W. Crate bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $10.91 per share, for a total transaction of $109,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,870,835.89. This trade represents a 6.19 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Easterly Government Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Easterly Government Properties during the 3rd quarter worth $856,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 324.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 165,212 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 126,306 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of 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 worth $663,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 4.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,932,660 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,246,000 after purchasing an additional 79,400 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,839,318 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $79,298,000 after purchasing an additional 66,663 shares in the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.