Kera Capital Partners Inc. Takes Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 904 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $1,443,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,749 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,041,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 13,935 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays assumed coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $316.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $305.42.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $283.20 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $293.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.67. 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 $18.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.92.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). The business had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

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

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.