Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $302.11.

Several research firms recently issued reports on ESS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America cut Essex Property Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $316.00 target price for the company.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock traded up $2.46 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $286.79. 121,587 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 375,784. Essex Property Trust has a twelve month low of $223.06 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The company has a market cap of $18.43 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.90. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $291.27.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 114.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 121.8% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

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.