Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Stock Passes Above Fifty Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on DEA. Wall Street Zen lowered Easterly Government Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Compass Point reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $23.75 price objective (down from $37.50) on shares of Easterly Government Properties in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Easterly Government Properties from $27.50 to $22.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Easterly Government Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.50 price target on the stock. Two equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Easterly Government Properties currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.69.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.39. The company has a quick ratio of 4.90, a current ratio of 4.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.49 and a beta of 0.94.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 1.30% and a net margin of 5.86%. Easterly Government Properties's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Easterly Government Properties Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th were paid 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 is presently 171.43%.

Institutional Trading of Easterly Government Properties

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DEA. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Easterly Government Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $514,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 143,148 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 3,310 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,975,328 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $22,440,000 after purchasing an additional 66,071 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 41.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 100,049 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,153,000 after buying an additional 29,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 481,556 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,470,000 after buying an additional 25,172 shares in the last quarter. 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.