Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Upgraded at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has $310.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous target price of $308.00.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on ESS. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $316.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $305.53.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $277.52 on Tuesday. Essex Property Trust has a twelve month low of $223.06 and a twelve 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $291.91 and its 200 day moving average is $292.06. The company has a market cap of $17.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 0.92.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. The firm had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.58 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $442,000. Vert Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 28,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,097,000 after purchasing an additional 2,366 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,359 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 201.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,443,000 after purchasing an additional 150,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 361 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, 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.