Brokerages Set Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Target Price at $297.00

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $297.00.

A number of equities analysts have commented on ESS shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $265.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $303.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.51, a PEG ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust has a 1 year low of $218.59 and a 1 year high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $297.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.56.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). The company had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.49%.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,627.59. The trade was a 52.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total transaction of $2,546,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at $2,991,559.40. This trade represents a 45.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,949 shares of company stock valued at $5,663,763 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $508,381,000 after acquiring an additional 25,591 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $392,766,000 after buying an additional 183,947 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,001,769 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $272,682,000 after acquiring an additional 3,977 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 941,501 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $256,280,000 after acquiring an additional 12,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 6.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 754,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $222,800,000 after acquiring an additional 47,114 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Essex Property Trust

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.