Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Receives $262.15 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $264.65.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ESS. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $244.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $255.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total value of $2,745,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,425,519.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total transaction of $2,745,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,425,519.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total transaction of $1,051,860.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at $2,641,895.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESS. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 111.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 214.3% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 600.0% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 112.3% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 138 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE ESS opened at $285.69 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 52 week low of $203.85 and a 52 week high of $292.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.34 billion, a PE ratio of 34.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $274.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $253.14.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 119.80%.

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.