Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 977,700 shares, a decline of 5.1% from the October 31st total of 1,030,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 375,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE ESS traded down $3.07 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $301.02. The stock had a trading volume of 322,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 374,091. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $218.59 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The business's 50-day moving average price is $297.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $287.56. The company has a market cap of $19.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.17, a PEG ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 0.90.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. The business had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 15.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 114.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total transaction of $2,546,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,991,559.40. The trade was a 45.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total value of $2,308,430.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. This represents a 73.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,949 shares of company stock valued at $5,663,763. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $318.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Raymond James cut Essex Property Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $297.00.

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.