Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) Short Interest Up 9.4% in March

Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,490,000 shares, a growth of 9.4% from the March 15th total of 3,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 985,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Easterly Government Properties Price Performance

NYSE:DEA traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 961,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 866,726. Easterly Government Properties has a fifty-two week low of $10.27 and a fifty-two week high of $15.21. The company has a current ratio of 4.65, a quick ratio of 4.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.71 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.54 and a 200-day moving average of $11.95.

Easterly Government Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.51%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. Easterly Government Properties’s payout ratio is 557.92%.

Institutional Trading of Easterly Government Properties

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DEA. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 7.9% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 63,313 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,338,000 after buying an additional 4,611 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 11.7% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 16,447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 23.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 19,267 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 3,681 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties in the first quarter valued at approximately $368,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 6.8% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 64,622 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 4,101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Easterly Government Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

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.