Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Stock Has Average Price Target of $298.27 According to Analysts

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $298.27.

A number of analysts have commented on ESS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $298.00 to $297.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 target price on Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $320.00 target price (down from $326.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $279.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $291.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 523.1% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.2% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 265 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 2.7%

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $271.96 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.36 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $273.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $269.90. Essex Property Trust has a 1-year low of $238.46 and a 1-year high of $303.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.01 by ($2.49). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 6.24% and a net margin of 17.84%. The business had revenue of $492.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $491.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.97 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 16.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $2.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 192.21%.

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust that owns, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily apartment communities. The company focuses on providing rental housing in high-demand markets and generates revenue primarily from apartment rents and related resident services.

Founded in 1971 and headquartered in San Mateo, California, Essex operates primarily in Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Seattle metropolitan area.