Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $306.63.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ESS. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $301.55 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $288.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $294.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $19.40 billion, a PE ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust has a 1-year low of $230.90 and a 1-year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. On average, equities analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 89.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 4,929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.99, for a total value of $1,552,585.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,303,393.38. This represents a 26.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $1,988,843.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,654 shares in the company, valued at $2,724,192.66. This represents a 42.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,545 shares of company stock worth $5,840,299. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.