Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Several other analysts also recently commented on DEA. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DEA opened at $11.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.19 and a 200-day simple moving average 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 PE ratio of 61.42 and a beta of 0.73. 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 (NYSE:DEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 EPS 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. Easterly Government Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Easterly Government Properties will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Easterly Government Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Easterly Government Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 557.89%.

Insider Transactions at Easterly Government Properties

In other news, CEO Darrell W. Crate bought 10,000 shares of Easterly Government Properties stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.91 per share, for a total transaction of $109,100.00. Following the purchase, 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Easterly Government Properties

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DEA. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 93.0% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 327,382 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,719,000 after purchasing an additional 157,765 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 48,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 18,049 shares in the last quarter. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $266,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 706,257 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,023,000 after purchasing an additional 33,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 303.8% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 428,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,862,000 after purchasing an additional 322,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.