Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $293.40.

ESS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Bank of America cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $307.00 to $321.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $285.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.32 billion, a PE ratio of 34.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust has a 12 month low of $203.85 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $294.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.34.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 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 firm had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.77 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 119.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $809,325.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $730,627.59. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $809,325.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $730,627.59. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663 over the last ninety days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1,247.2% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 485 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Code Waechter LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth about $207,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 311.3% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,057 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth about $488,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth about $204,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.