Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target Increased to $287.00 by Analysts at Evercore ISI

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price target raised by Evercore ISI from $283.00 to $287.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an in-line rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $291.10.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $312.42 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $291.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $267.92. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $203.85 and a 52-week high of $317.73. 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 market capitalization of $20.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.19, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.85 by ($2.40). The business had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 30.31%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.77 earnings per share. 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.80%.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total value of $2,308,430.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total transaction of $2,308,430.38. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total value of $2,546,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,991,559.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.4% in the second quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 0.6% in the second quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 8,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 591 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 11,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,765,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.