Scotiabank Raises Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target to $329.00

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price target raised by Scotiabank from $309.00 to $329.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ESS. UBS Group increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. 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 research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $291.10.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE:ESS opened at $312.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a market cap of $20.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.14, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $203.85 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $290.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $267.61.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). The firm had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 30.31%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.77 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 15.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 119.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total transaction of $809,325.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,627.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total transaction of $1,051,860.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,641,895.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Anne Morrison sold 2,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $809,325.09. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $730,627.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,884 shares of company stock valued at $5,143,094. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

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.