Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Essex Property Trust, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from 18 brokerages, with 1 sell rating, 10 hold ratings, and 7 buy ratings, and an average price target of $308.26.
• The company's stock opened at $254.75 and has a 12-month low of $243.85 and a high of $317.73, with a market cap of $16.41 billion.
• Essex Property Trust announced a quarterly dividend of $2.57 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $10.28 and a yield of 4.0%.

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $308.2647.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ESS shares. Wall Street Zen raised Essex Property Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $301.50 to $305.50 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS stock traded down $2.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $254.48. The stock had a trading volume of 367,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 495,337. The firm has a market cap of $16.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 0.80. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $281.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $285.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $243.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.99 by $0.04. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 43.51% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The firm had revenue of $465.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ESS. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 151,452.8% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,978,012 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $843,969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,976,047 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at $384,606,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 66.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,746,242 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $841,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096,619 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 35,500.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 448,205 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $137,406,000 after buying an additional 446,946 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,127,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $321,928,000 after buying an additional 404,892 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.