Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Shares Gap Down to $309.65

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $309.65, but opened at $302.00. Essex Property Trust shares last traded at $304.78, with a volume of 45,284 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $293.40.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 2.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $19.39 billion, a PE ratio of 37.85, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $292.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $269.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The company had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 119.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total value of $2,308,430.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $817,661.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 0.6% during the second quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 8,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 591 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 11,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,765,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

Essex Property Trust, Inc, an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.