Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

DEA has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:DEA opened at $11.06 on Tuesday. 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 50-day moving average price of $11.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.37. Easterly Government Properties has a twelve month low of $10.45 and a twelve month high of $14.53. The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.42 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Easterly Government Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.59%. Easterly Government Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 557.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Darrell W. Crate bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $10.91 per share, with a total value of $109,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 171,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,870,835.89. The trade was a 6.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 8.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Easterly Government Properties

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 814.7% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,770 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 35.6% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 997 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 62.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 2,014 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in Easterly Government Properties by 604.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,878 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 5,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Easterly Government Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,000. 86.51% of the stock is 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.