Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target Raised to $304.00

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price objective upped by Barclays from $302.00 to $304.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on ESS. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One equities 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $306.63.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.0 %

ESS opened at $294.47 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $285.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $292.81. Essex Property Trust has a 1-year low of $225.40 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.77 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. Analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 8,302 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,370,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 34,354 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,806,000 after purchasing an additional 2,574 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth $333,000. GTS Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 86.2% during the 4th quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 3,407 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kinloch Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC now owns 15,484 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,420,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.