StockNews.com Downgrades Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) to Sell

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on DEA. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Easterly Government Properties from $30.00 to $27.50 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Easterly Government Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $32.50 price objective on the stock. Finally, Compass Point reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $23.75 target price (down from $37.50) on shares of Easterly Government Properties in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Easterly Government Properties has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.06.

Easterly Government Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DEA opened at $20.36 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.01, a quick ratio of 4.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $914.31 million, a PE ratio of 113.12 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.70. Easterly Government Properties has a 1-year low of $19.33 and a 1-year high of $36.31.

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.73. The business had revenue of $78.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.67 million. Easterly Government Properties had a net margin of 6.25% and a return on equity of 1.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Easterly Government Properties will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Easterly Government Properties

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Easterly Government Properties by 814.7% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 604.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,878 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 5,043 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the fourth quarter worth approximately $70,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Easterly Government Properties in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Easterly Government Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,000. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by 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.