Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has invested $617,000 in Essex Property Trust, purchasing 2,013 shares during the first quarter.
• Essex Property Trust has reported a quarterly EPS of $4.03, surpassing analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $2.57, yielding 4.0% annually.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Essex Property Trust, with a consensus target price of $308.26 and a majority rating it as a "Hold."

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,013 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $617,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth approximately $82,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $112,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 52.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS traded down $2.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $254.48. The stock had a trading volume of 367,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 495,337. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.85 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $281.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $285.14. The stock has a market cap of $16.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $465.84 million during 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 quarter last year, the company earned $3.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $301.50 to $305.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Scotiabank set a $309.00 price target on Essex Property Trust and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho dropped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $308.26.

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.