Brokerages Set Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Target Price at $288.30

Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $291.10.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ESS. UBS Group upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 2.0 %

ESS opened at $306.21 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $292.19 and a 200-day moving average of $268.71. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $203.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The company has a market capitalization of $19.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 30.31%. The business had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.77 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 15.53 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 119.80%.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,559.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total transaction of $2,546,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,559.40. 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 2,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 600.0% during 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. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.