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

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twenty ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $307.16.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $527,904. This represents a 61.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 2.2 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $294.95 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $289.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $294.60. The company has a market cap of $18.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $230.90 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. Equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 89.08%.

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.