Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Receives $288.30 Consensus PT from Analysts

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $291.10.

ESS has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 target price for the company. Mizuho boosted 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 report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Raymond James upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total transaction of $2,546,008.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,559.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,884 shares of company stock worth $5,143,094 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,072,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $761,760,000 after buying an additional 730,141 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $675,183,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,832,845 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $448,701,000 after acquiring an additional 147,130 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,145,569 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $311,824,000 after purchasing an additional 27,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $272,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.0 %

ESS stock opened at $312.00 on Monday. Essex Property Trust has a 12-month low of $203.85 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The business’s 50-day moving average is $290.87 and its 200 day moving average is $267.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $20.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.14, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $433.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.77 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 119.80%.

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.