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

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

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Easterly Government Properties from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial dropped their target price 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.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Up 0.4 %

Easterly Government Properties stock opened at $11.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.01, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Easterly Government Properties has a 1-year low of $10.76 and a 1-year high of $14.52. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.94. The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.00 and a beta of 0.69.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $74.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.98 million. Easterly Government Properties had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 1.34%. Easterly Government Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Easterly Government Properties will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Easterly Government Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.20%. Easterly Government Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 588.89%.

Insider Transactions at Easterly Government Properties

In related news, CEO Darrell W. Crate purchased 10,000 shares of Easterly Government Properties stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $10.91 per share, with a total value of $109,100.00. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Easterly Government Properties by 2.7% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 31,873 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 27,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 2.8% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 31,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 29.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 997 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

About Easterly Government Properties

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.