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 sent to investors on Monday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Easterly Government Properties from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Easterly Government Properties from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:DEA opened at $11.21 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 4.01 and a quick ratio of 4.01. Easterly Government Properties has a 1 year low of $10.45 and a 1 year high of $14.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.44. The company has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.28 and a beta of 0.70.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $78.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Easterly Government Properties will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Easterly Government Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Easterly Government Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 588.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Easterly Government Properties

In other Easterly Government Properties news, CEO Darrell W. Crate acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $10.91 per share, with a total value of $109,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,870,835.89. The trade was a 6.19 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Easterly Government Properties

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 814.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 35.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 62.4% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 2,014 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 604.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,878 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 5,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the 4th quarter worth $70,000. 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.