Easterly Government Properties Downgraded Post-Q2 Results: Analyst Foresees Limited Growth Ahead

RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Carroll downgraded Easterly Government Properties Inc DEA to Underperform from Sector Perform at a lowered price target of $13 from $15.

Following Q2 results, the analyst continues to believe DEA should generate minimal organic and external growth in a favorable environment.

This month, the company reported revenue of $71.4 million, beating the consensus of $70.6 million. 

The company revised FY23 FFO guidance to $1.13-$1.15 (vs. $1.13 estimates) from $1.12-$1.15. 

The analyst expects earnings run-rate to be modestly lower, partly due to the rollover of interest rate swaps that will further weigh the dividend.

Carroll projects roughly $250 million of potential deals to add $0.01 to AFFO per share on a leverage-neutral basis and the pending deals to be minimally accretive owing to the outstanding forward equity contracts.

Consequently, the analyst estimates FFO per share to meet the mid-point of management's FY23 guidance range at $1.14 and then dip lower to $1.12 in FY24 and $1.11 in FY25.

Price Action: DEA shares are trading lower by 3.9% at $13.66 on the last check Wednesday.