Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target Raised to $286.00

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its target price increased by UBS Group from $275.00 to $286.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on ESS. Mizuho downgraded Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $308.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Evercore set a $299.00 price objective on Essex Property Trust in a report on Monday, September 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Citigroup raised Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Essex Property Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $297.52.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.7%

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

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

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $2.59 per share. 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 currently 192.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESS. GSI Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. GSI Capital Advisors LLC now owns 54,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,735,000 after acquiring an additional 22,191 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 146,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,474,000 after purchasing an additional 23,257 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth $5,889,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,048 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Finally, Composition Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 14,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,997,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. 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.