Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Easterly Government Properties, Inc. has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" by five ratings firms, with one analyst providing a sell recommendation and one a buy recommendation.
• The company's stock has seen a 1.2% decline, currently priced at $22.11, with a 52-week low of $19.33 and high of $36.31.
• Easterly announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, reflecting a payout ratio of 175.61% and an annualized yield of 8.1%.

Shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.15.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DEA shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Easterly Government Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Easterly Government Properties from $27.50 to $22.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Easterly Government Properties from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Easterly Government Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Easterly Government Properties by 48.3% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 75,852 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,684,000 after purchasing an additional 24,700 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 223.9% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,778 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the second quarter worth approximately $273,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID purchased a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the second quarter worth approximately $465,000. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the second quarter worth approximately $5,179,000. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE DEA opened at $22.11 on Friday. Easterly Government Properties has a 52 week low of $19.33 and a 52 week high of $36.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.80. The company has a quick ratio of 4.90, a current ratio of 3.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.92 and a beta of 0.94.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.74. The firm had revenue of $80.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.73 million. Easterly Government Properties had a return on equity of 1.26% and a net margin of 5.54%. The company's revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Easterly Government Properties will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Easterly Government Properties Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.1%. Easterly Government Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 175.61%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.