Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target Raised to $302.00

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price objective raised by Evercore ISI from $297.00 to $302.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an in-line rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $306.53.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS opened at $290.53 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $286.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust has a 1 year low of $223.06 and a 1 year high of $317.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.67 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.92.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders 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 3.37%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter worth about $384,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth about $204,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 311.3% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,057 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 1,247.2% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 485 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 12.1% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 539 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.