Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $10.92 and last traded at $10.93, with a volume of 1399608 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $11.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Easterly Government Properties from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Easterly Government Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Easterly Government Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Down 1.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 60.72 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 4.01 and a quick ratio of 4.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.02.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.24). Easterly Government Properties had a return on equity of 1.34% and a net margin of 6.25%. The business had revenue of $74.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Easterly Government Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.70%. Easterly Government Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 588.89%.

Institutional Trading of Easterly Government Properties

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 478.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 672,306 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,130,000 after acquiring an additional 556,148 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the third quarter valued at $3,449,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 145.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 224,825 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,053,000 after acquiring an additional 133,367 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,571,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 324.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 165,212 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 126,306 shares during the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.