Yousif Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,660 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 186 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Essex Property Trust worth $10,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,353,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,955,205,000 after purchasing an additional 61,645 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,758,174 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $500,688,000 after acquiring an additional 32,102 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $471,258,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,494,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $426,532,000 after acquiring an additional 70,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,127,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $321,928,000 after acquiring an additional 404,892 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.4%

ESS opened at $287.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $277.52 and its 200-day moving average is $287.80. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.85 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.83 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ESS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $329.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $355.00 target price (down from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $312.17.

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.