Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Stock Price Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.29 and traded as high as $23.04. Easterly Government Properties shares last traded at $22.74, with a volume of 473,285 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on DEA. Compass Point reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $23.75 price target (down from $37.50) on shares of Easterly Government Properties in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Easterly Government Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.50 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Easterly Government Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.69.

Easterly Government Properties Price Performance

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 price-to-earnings ratio of 53.73 and a beta of 0.94. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $21.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.25.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73. Easterly Government Properties had a return on equity of 1.30% and a net margin of 5.86%. The firm had revenue of $78.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.67 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Easterly Government Properties Cuts Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 1,759.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,000,176 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,602,000 after acquiring an additional 946,381 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,394,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 74.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,861,478 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $21,146,000 after purchasing an additional 795,058 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,487,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,056,248 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $23,359,000 after purchasing an additional 673,270 shares during the period. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.