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

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $304.32.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS stock opened at $277.43 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $290.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $291.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $17.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.92. Essex Property Trust has a 1 year low of $223.06 and a 1 year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). The business had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 114.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 104.5% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $89,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.