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

Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twenty research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $305.42.

ESS has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $307.00 to $321.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays initiated coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $316.00 target price on the stock. Finally, 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 162.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 74,841 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,109,000 after acquiring an additional 46,354 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $541,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 92.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 237.7% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $283.20 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $293.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.08, a PEG ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.92. Essex Property Trust has a 52 week low of $223.06 and a 52 week high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 114.49%.

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.