Brokerages Set Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Price Target at $302.11

Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $302.11.

Several research firms recently issued reports on ESS. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Raymond James lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, September 10th.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of ESS stock opened at $284.43 on Wednesday. Essex Property Trust has a 12 month low of $223.06 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $297.28 and a 200-day moving average of $291.32.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released 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 company had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.88 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 15.56 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 114.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 4.7% in the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 3.6% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 0.6% in the second quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 8,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,368,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 7.4% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 781 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,636,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.