Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Sets New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $12.00 to $11.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an underperform rating on the stock. Easterly Government Properties traded as low as $10.38 and last traded at $10.48, with a volume of 1507777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.77.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Easterly Government Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial cut their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Darrell W. Crate purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 171,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,870,835.89. The trade was a 6.19 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 8.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Easterly Government Properties

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 1.6% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 258,216 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,507,000 after purchasing an additional 4,123 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 19,066 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 165.3% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 124,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 77,600 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 2,764.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 33,080 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 31,925 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $26,246,000 after purchasing an additional 79,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Down 2.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 4.01 and a quick ratio of 4.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.31. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 58.14 and a beta of 0.73.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 1.34% and a net margin of 6.25%. The company had revenue of $78.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. Easterly Government Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Easterly Government Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.12%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Easterly Government Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 557.89%.

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.