Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) Short Interest Update

Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,610,000 shares, a decrease of 25.1% from the March 15th total of 7,490,000 shares. Currently, 5.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,470,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Easterly Government Properties by 814.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 604.0% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,878 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 5,043 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Easterly Government Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $70,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Easterly Government Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $87,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.51% of the company's stock.

Easterly Government Properties Trading Up 0.6 %

DEA stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $8.19. 1,018,566 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,175,422. Easterly Government Properties has a 52-week low of $7.79 and a 52-week high of $14.53. The stock's fifty day moving average is $10.08 and its 200-day moving average is $11.44. The company has a market cap of $883.74 million, a P/E ratio of 45.47 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 4.01, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Easterly Government Properties shares are going to reverse split on Monday, April 28th. The 2-5 reverse split was announced on Wednesday, April 9th. The number of shares owned by shareholders will be adjusted after the market closes on Friday, April 25th.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.22. Easterly Government Properties had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 1.34%. The firm had revenue of $78.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $79.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Easterly Government Properties will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Easterly Government Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.95%. Easterly Government Properties's payout ratio is presently 378.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Easterly Government Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Easterly Government Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $13.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Compass Point restated a "neutral" rating and set a $9.50 price objective (down previously from $15.00) on shares of Easterly Government Properties in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $11.63.

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.