Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Easterly Government Properties from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Easterly Government Properties Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of DEA opened at $11.52 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.94. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 64.00 and a beta of 0.69. Easterly Government Properties has a 1 year low of $10.76 and a 1 year high of $14.52.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) last issued 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 company had revenue of $74.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Easterly Government Properties will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Easterly Government Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Easterly Government Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 588.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Darrell W. Crate acquired 10,000 shares of Easterly Government Properties stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $10.91 per share, with a total value of $109,100.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 171,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,870,835.89. This represents a 6.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 8.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Easterly Government Properties

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Easterly Government Properties during the 3rd quarter worth about $856,000. Barclays PLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 126,306 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 3.5% during 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 buying an additional 1,637 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $26,246,000 after buying an additional 79,400 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted 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 acquiring an additional 66,663 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

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.