Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Performance

NYSE:DEA opened at $11.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 4.65 and a quick ratio of 4.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.04. Easterly Government Properties has a 1 year low of $10.27 and a 1 year high of $15.21. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.50 and a beta of 0.67.

Easterly Government Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. Easterly Government Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 557.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Easterly Government Properties

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 3.0% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 17,482,804 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $253,501,000 after buying an additional 508,729 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,833,432 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,601,000 after purchasing an additional 30,318 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 1.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,943,747 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $86,184,000 after purchasing an additional 78,575 shares during the last quarter. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership bought a new stake in Easterly Government Properties during the fourth quarter worth about $39,948,000. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,567,196 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,503,000 after purchasing an additional 320,633 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

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.