Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Research Coverage Started at Barclays

Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) in a research note released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $316.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Raymond James cut shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.11.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 1.8 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $279.01 on Tuesday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $298.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.90. 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 issued 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 company 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 period last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 114.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 600.0% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position 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 worth $53,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 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.