Brokerages Set Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Price Target at $306.53

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $306.63.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.2 %

ESS stock opened at $291.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $18.72 billion, a PE ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $285.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $292.81. Essex Property Trust has a 12 month low of $225.40 and a 12 month high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. Equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 84.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 34,354 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,806,000 after purchasing an additional 2,574 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $333,000. GTS Securities LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 86.2% in the 4th quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 3,407 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $972,000 after buying an additional 1,577 shares during the last quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC now owns 15,484 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,420,000 after buying an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 778,514 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $222,219,000 after buying an additional 58,918 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

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.