Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Royal Bank Of Canada

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price target trimmed by Royal Bank Of Canada from $298.00 to $297.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Citigroup raised Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Essex Property Trust from $292.75 to $285.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Evercore set a $299.00 target price on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Essex Property Trust from $286.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.27.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $264.04 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $274.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $269.67. The stock has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.99, a PEG ratio of 7.82 and a beta of 0.70. Essex Property Trust has a 52 week low of $238.46 and a 52 week high of $303.35.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $492.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $491.01 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 17.84% and a return on equity of 6.24%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.97 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 16.16 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $2.59 per share. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 192.21%.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 787 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.7% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,047 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $737,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Revisor Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.8% in the third quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 7.0% during the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 780 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.2% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 265 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust that owns, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily apartment communities. The company focuses on providing rental housing in high-demand markets and generates revenue primarily from apartment rents and related resident services.

Founded in 1971 and headquartered in San Mateo, California, Essex operates primarily in Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Seattle metropolitan area.