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

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price objective lifted by Truist Financial from $292.00 to $304.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.16.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $292.78 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $289.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $294.64. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $230.90 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The firm has a market cap of $18.83 billion, a PE ratio of 25.37, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.90. 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 (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. On average, analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 89.08%.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $1,988,843.22. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 8,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,724,192.66. The trade was a 42.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $2,298,870.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,545 shares of company stock worth $5,840,299 in the last ninety days. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during 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. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.