Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) Rating Increased to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Easterly Government Properties (NYSE:DEA) was upgraded by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $15.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $13.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 7.57% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Easterly Government Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Easterly Government Properties from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th.

Easterly Government Properties Stock Performance

Shares of DEA opened at $13.95 on Monday. Easterly Government Properties has a 12-month low of $10.27 and a 12-month high of $14.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.73 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $13.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Easterly Government Properties

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kempner Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Easterly Government Properties during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Easterly Government Properties by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,009,182 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $126,716,000 after acquiring an additional 175,750 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Easterly Government Properties during the second quarter worth about $1,571,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,067,155 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,201,000 after purchasing an additional 107,753 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Easterly Government Properties by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,144,075 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,152,000 after purchasing an additional 102,521 shares during the period. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.