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

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

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price objective on the stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS opened at $310.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $297.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.00. Essex Property Trust has a 1 year low of $211.35 and a 1 year high of $317.73. The company has a market capitalization of $19.95 billion, a PE ratio of 36.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.88.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. The business had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. Research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 15.56 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essex Property Trust news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $809,325.09. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $730,627.59. The trade was a 52.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total value of $2,308,430.38. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $817,661.35. This trade represents a 73.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,949 shares of company stock worth $5,663,763 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $743,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter valued at $4,299,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in 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 worth $22,109,000 after purchasing an additional 46,354 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 8,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,537,000 after buying an additional 3,018 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

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.