Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $285.70.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ESS. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $294.00 to $284.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $280.00 to $268.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $305.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 151,452.8% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,978,012 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $843,969,000 after purchasing an additional 2,976,047 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $239,442,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 973.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 743,954 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $199,127,000 after buying an additional 674,617 shares during the period. Centersquare Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 473.5% in the 3rd quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 516,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $138,315,000 after buying an additional 426,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,056,887 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $299,522,000 after buying an additional 344,287 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $248.58 on Thursday. Essex Property Trust has a 1 year low of $243.25 and a 1 year high of $316.29. The business’s fifty day moving average is $256.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $261.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.89, a P/E/G ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 78.12%.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

Essex Property Trust, Inc (NYSE: ESS) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on market-rate apartment communities and delivers a full suite of property services including leasing, resident services, asset management, and capital improvement programs designed to preserve and enhance long‑term property values.

Essex concentrates its portfolio in West Coast markets, with a significant presence in California and the Pacific Northwest.