Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Trading Down 5.3% - Here's Why

Shares of Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) fell 5.3% on Friday . The company traded as low as $11.90 and last traded at $11.91. 311,023 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 897,120 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DEA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Easterly Government Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $13.00 to $15.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Easterly Government Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.00 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a current ratio of 4.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.55 and a 200 day moving average of $12.99.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $74.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Easterly Government Properties, Inc. will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Easterly Government Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.79%. Easterly Government Properties's payout ratio is currently 588.89%.

Institutional Trading of Easterly Government Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DEA. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 31,873 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 3.3% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 27,221 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 859 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 2.8% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 31,221 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,881 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,798 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares during the period. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.