Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target Raised to $288.00

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price target raised by Truist Financial from $286.00 to $288.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $279.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $307.00 to $293.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.52.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $272.08 on Tuesday. Essex Property Trust has a 1 year low of $238.46 and a 1 year high of $303.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.00, a PEG ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $270.45.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by ($2.49). The firm had revenue of $492.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $491.01 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 6.24% and a net margin of 17.84%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.97 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $2.59 dividend. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 192.21%.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at $38,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 523.1% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 35.7% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 190 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in 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. is a real estate investment trust focused on owning, operating, acquiring, developing and redeveloping apartment communities. Its portfolio serves renters in major coastal markets in Southern California, Northern California and the Seattle metropolitan area. Founded in 1971, the company became publicly traded in 1994. Essex’s primary business is providing rental housing, with property operations and development activities supporting its apartment portfolio.