Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on ESS. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $355.00 price target (down previously from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $310.28.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE ESS traded up $2.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $285.83. The company had a trading volume of 393,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 423,418. The firm's 50 day moving average is $283.16 and its 200 day moving average is $285.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $243.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The company has a market capitalization of $18.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.35, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.78.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 37.08%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 98.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,126 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 46.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $16,703,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.