Centersquare Investment Management LLC Has $27.16 Million Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Key Points

• Centersquare Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 11.5%, owning approximately 0.14% of the company valued at $27.2 million after selling 11,502 shares.
• Essex Property Trust reported a quarterly EPS of $4.03, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.04, while revenues totaled $465.84 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.57 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 4.0%, with a payout ratio of 82.64%.

Centersquare Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,598 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 11,502 shares during the quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Essex Property Trust worth $27,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 4,624 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 985 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,952 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 778 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 1,217 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded down $2.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $254.48. The stock had a trading volume of 367,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 635,696. The company's 50 day moving average is $281.49 and its 200-day moving average is $285.14. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.85 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $16.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46, a P/E/G ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders 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 4.0%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. Scotiabank set a $309.00 price target on Essex Property Trust and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler downgraded Essex Property Trust from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $308.26.

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.