Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Price Target to $22.00

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by Royal Bank of Canada from $27.50 to $22.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underperform" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's price target points to a potential upside of 1.52% from the stock's previous close.

DEA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Compass Point reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $23.75 price objective (down previously from $37.50) on shares of Easterly Government Properties in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Easterly Government Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Easterly Government Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.50 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Easterly Government Properties presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.69.

Easterly Government Properties Price Performance

Shares of DEA traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $21.67. 104,156 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 503,526. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.01. Easterly Government Properties has a 12-month low of $19.33 and a 12-month high of $36.31. The company has a market cap of $973.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 120.33 and a beta of 0.90. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $21.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.94.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.73. The firm had revenue of $78.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $80.67 million. Easterly Government Properties had a return on equity of 1.34% and a net margin of 6.25%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Easterly Government Properties will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Easterly Government Properties

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of DEA. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 814.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,770 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 604.0% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,878 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 5,043 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the 4th quarter valued at $70,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the 4th quarter valued at $87,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the 4th quarter valued at $97,000. 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.