Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE ESS traded down $6.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $277.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 295,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 378,724. Essex Property Trust has a 52 week low of $204.64 and a 52 week high of $317.73. The firm has a market cap of $17.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $298.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $279.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 114.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,991,559.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,559.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 report on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.40.

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.