Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Given New $303.00 Price Target at Barclays

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price target cut by Barclays from $304.00 to $303.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.11.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $263.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $293.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.18. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $230.90 and a fifty-two 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. Equities analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $2.57 dividend. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.08%.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. This trade represents a 61.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $2,298,870.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 over the last three months. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

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.