Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Shares Down 6.2% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Essex Property Trust's stock price dropped by 6.2%, trading at around $272.76, with a significant decline in trading volume.
• Analysts have mixed feelings about the company's performance, with ten holding, two selling, and eight buying the stock, while the consensus price target is $313.03.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.57 per share, reflecting a yield of 3.83%, with a high payout ratio of 98.37%.

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) traded down 6.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $275.57 and last traded at $272.76. 178,974 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 463,728 shares. The stock had previously closed at $290.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $301.50 to $305.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $312.92.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 1.9%

The stock's fifty day moving average is $283.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $286.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $16.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,440,274 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,200,675,000 after acquiring an additional 87,117 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $843,969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,976,047 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 66.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,096,619 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,758,174 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $500,688,000 after acquiring an additional 32,102 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthquest Corp bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $384,606,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently 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.