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

Key Points

• Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Essex Property Trust, with 10 buy ratings, 10 holds, one strong buy, and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $298.27, above the reported share price of $264.04.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company, with several investment firms increasing their positions during the third quarter.
• Essex reported quarterly revenue of $492.69 million, slightly above estimates, but earnings per share fell short of expectations. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $2.59, equivalent to a 3.9% annualized yield.

Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $298.27.

Several research firms have recently commented on ESS. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $330.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Evercore set a $299.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $291.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Essex Property Trust from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 46.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,172 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 9.6% during the third quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,535 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 10.5% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 238,747 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,316,000 after acquiring an additional 22,783 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at $6,400,000. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 42.4% during the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.4%

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $264.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.54. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $274.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $269.67. The company has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a PE ratio of 48.99, a PEG ratio of 7.85 and a beta of 0.70. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $238.46 and a fifty-two week high of $303.35.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.01 by ($2.49). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 17.84% and a return on equity of 6.24%. The firm had revenue of $492.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $491.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.97 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 16.16 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. 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.

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