Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Easterly Government Properties Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of DEA opened at $12.13 on Friday. Easterly Government Properties has a 52-week low of $10.27 and a 52-week high of $15.21. The business’s fifty day moving average is $11.55 and its 200-day moving average is $12.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a current ratio of 4.31. The firm has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.65 and a beta of 0.65.

Easterly Government Properties Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Easterly Government Properties

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DEA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Easterly Government Properties by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,803,114 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $123,480,000 after purchasing an additional 89,916 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. bought a new position in Easterly Government Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,555,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in Easterly Government Properties by 2,550.6% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,117 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,512,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,284,000 after buying an additional 54,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aurora Investment Managers LLC. lifted its position in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. now owns 108,608 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,460,000 after buying an additional 29,251 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.