Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Raised 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 published on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on DEA. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Easterly Government Properties from a sector perform rating to an underperform rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $14.70.

Easterly Government Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DEA opened at $11.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.52 and a beta of 0.71. Easterly Government Properties has a 52 week low of $10.27 and a 52 week high of $16.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $11.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.19. The company has a current ratio of 5.00, a quick ratio of 5.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Easterly Government Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 9th will be issued a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 8th. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.04%. Easterly Government Properties’s payout ratio is 321.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DEA. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 7.9% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 63,313 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after buying an additional 4,611 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 11.7% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 16,447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 23.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 19,267 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 3,681 shares during the period. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the first quarter valued at approximately $368,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 6.8% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 64,622 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 4,101 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.68% 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.