Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.49.

DEA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Easterly Government Properties from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Easterly Government Properties from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Easterly Government Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Easterly Government Properties from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Easterly Government Properties

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,831,169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $102,372,000 after acquiring an additional 167,092 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,497,275 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,917,000 after buying an additional 13,200 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,139,044 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,141,000 after buying an additional 9,577 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 1,759.2% during 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 buying an additional 946,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 962,687 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $20,399,000 after buying an additional 40,451 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DEA opened at $23.87 on Friday. Easterly Government Properties has a twelve month low of $20.56 and a twelve month high of $24.94. The firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 99.46 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $23.08 and a 200-day moving average of $22.67.

Easterly Government Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 7th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.5%. Easterly Government Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 750.00%.

About Easterly Government Properties

Easterly Government Properties, Inc is a real estate investment trust that specializes in the acquisition, development and management of commercial properties leased to U.S. government agencies. Structured as a triple-net lease REIT, the company focuses on single-tenant assets with long-term, credit-backed leases that transfer most property-level responsibilities—including taxes, insurance and maintenance—to its government tenants.

The firm’s portfolio encompasses a variety of facility types, including office buildings, training centers, laboratories and mission-critical installations used by federal agencies.