Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Shares Cross Above 50 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.42 and traded as high as $23.18. Easterly Government Properties shares last traded at $22.93, with a volume of 638,957 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DEA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Easterly Government Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.50 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Easterly Government Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Compass Point reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $23.75 target price (down from $37.50) on shares of Easterly Government Properties in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $27.50 to $22.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Easterly Government Properties currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.69.

Easterly Government Properties Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 128.89 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's 50 day moving average is $21.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.55. 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 (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73. The firm had revenue of $78.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.67 million. Easterly Government Properties had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 1.34%. Easterly Government Properties's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Easterly Government Properties Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a yield of 8.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Easterly Government Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,770 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 5,043 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Easterly Government Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $70,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Easterly Government Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $87,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Easterly Government Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $97,000. 86.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.