Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Position Cut by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. by 44.2%, with the fund now owning approximately 0.06% of the company, valued at $11.89 million.
• Essex Property Trust's quarterly earnings report exceeded expectations, posting $3.97 EPS against a consensus of $3.92, and reported a revenue of $464.58 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.57 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.57% and a high dividend payout ratio of 98.37%.

Heartland Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 44.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 38,771 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 30,730 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Essex Property Trust worth $11,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $82,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 85.2% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 52.9% in the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 390 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Raymond James Financial raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $310.94.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $287.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.52, a PEG ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $283.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $285.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.85 and a 1-year high of $317.73.

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

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 98.37%.

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.

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