Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Shares Down 5.3% – What’s Next?

Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) dropped 5.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $11.90 and last traded at $11.91. Approximately 311,023 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 897,120 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on DEA. StockNews.com raised shares of Easterly Government Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Easterly Government Properties from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Easterly Government Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Down 1.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.00 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $13.55 and its 200 day moving average is $13.00.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.24). Easterly Government Properties had a return on equity of 1.34% and a net margin of 6.25%. The company had revenue of $74.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Easterly Government Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Easterly Government Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 588.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Easterly Government Properties

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,552,691 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,671,000 after acquiring an additional 9,248 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Easterly Government Properties by 324.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 165,212 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 126,306 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Easterly Government Properties in the third quarter valued at $856,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Easterly Government Properties by 430.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 49,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 40,492 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Easterly Government Properties by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,839,318 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $79,298,000 after purchasing an additional 66,663 shares during the period. 86.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.