Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Upgraded to Hold by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Up 2.1 %

DEA stock opened at $12.13 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.31, a current ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 60.65 and a beta of 0.65. Easterly Government Properties has a twelve month low of $10.27 and a twelve month high of $15.21. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.01.

Easterly Government Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 8th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.74%. Easterly Government Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 530.00%.

Institutional Trading of Easterly Government Properties

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in Easterly Government Properties by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 83,319 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $959,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 716.1% in the first quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 84,422 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 74,077 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 9.2% during the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 31,031 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 2,610 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Easterly Government Properties by 8.3% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 259,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,983,000 after acquiring an additional 19,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Easterly Government Properties by 36.6% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 48,581 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 13,011 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

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.