Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Shares Acquired by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 92.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,710 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 162.7% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth $541,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 237.7% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,761 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 54.2% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 8,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,537,000 after acquiring an additional 3,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 74.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $284.33 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $298.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $291.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $223.06 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.22, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.90.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 114.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays started coverage on Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $316.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.11.

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.