Brokerages Set Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Price Target at $257.33

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the nineteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $257.43.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ESS shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $239.50 to $243.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $232.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $675,183,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,072,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $761,760,000 after acquiring an additional 730,141 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 86.5% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 997,792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $244,269,000 after acquiring an additional 462,828 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 119.3% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 412,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $102,602,000 after acquiring an additional 224,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5,069.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 208,651 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,253,000 after acquiring an additional 204,615 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $278.97 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.19, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $203.85 and a fifty-two week high of $279.09. The stock has a market cap of $17.91 billion, a PE ratio of 34.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $254.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $243.42.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.80%.

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.