Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Share Price Crosses Below 200-Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $24.85 and traded as low as $22.58. Easterly Government Properties shares last traded at $22.82, with a volume of 212,292 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DEA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Easterly Government Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.50 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped 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 report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Easterly Government Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Compass Point reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $23.75 price target (down previously from $37.50) on shares of Easterly Government Properties in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Easterly Government Properties has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.69.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Down 1.6%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 4.90 and a quick ratio of 4.90. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 53.31 and a beta of 0.94.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 1.30%. Easterly Government Properties's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Easterly Government Properties Cuts Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Easterly Government Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 814.7% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,770 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 604.0% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,878 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 5,043 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $70,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,000. 86.51% of the stock is owned by 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.