Easterly Government Properties plumbs new lows after dividend chopped

Shares of Easterly Government Properties Inc DEA.N fall 12.5% to fresh record low of $8.33 early Thurs after announcing dividend reduction

DEA last down 11.2% at $8.45 and tracking biggest one-day pct drop since pandemic onset in Mar 2020

Washington, D.C-based commercial real estate investment trust late Weds said board approved 32% reduction of qtrly dividend from $0.265 to $0.18

Co said it's changing dividend philosophy to align with best practices of other net lease REITs

It said it's targeting core funds from operation payout ratio in range of 55-65% and cash available for distribution payout ratio in range of 65-75%, and intends to maintain those ranges as both figures grow

Dividend to be paid on May 17 to shareholders as of May 5

It also announced 1-for-2.5 reverse stock split to take effect on Apr 28; post split, qtrly dividend will become $0.45 ($1.80/sh annualized)

Co reaffirmed its 2025 earnings outlook, which will be updated to reflect Q1 earnings on or about Apr 29

With ~108 mln shares outstanding, co has ~$900 mln market cap, per LSEG data

Including move on the session, stock down ~26% YTD following >15% decline in 2024