Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) Short Interest Up 9.4% in March

Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,490,000 shares, an increase of 9.4% from the March 15th total of 3,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 985,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Down 1.2 %

Easterly Government Properties stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.15. The stock had a trading volume of 961,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 866,726. The company has a current ratio of 4.65, a quick ratio of 4.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $11.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.95. Easterly Government Properties has a 12 month low of $10.27 and a 12 month high of $15.21. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.71 and a beta of 0.67.

Easterly Government Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were paid a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.51%. Easterly Government Properties’s payout ratio is currently 557.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Easterly Government Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DEA. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 365.1% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 10,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 7,850 shares during the period. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 4.9% during the first quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 771,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,882,000 after buying an additional 36,082 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. boosted its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 88.0% during the first quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. now owns 204,134 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,350,000 after buying an additional 95,526 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the first quarter worth approximately $228,000. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the fourth quarter worth approximately $137,000. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Easterly Government Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

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.