Optas LLC Invests $454,000 in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Optas LLC invested approximately $454,000 in Essex Property Trust, acquiring 1,602 shares of the real estate investment trust during the second quarter.
• Essex Property Trust reported $4.03 earnings per share for the last quarter, beating expectations, and had a revenue of $465.84 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.57 per share, yielding 4.0%, with an ex-dividend date set for September 30th.

Optas LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,602 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $454,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ESS. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,462 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $152,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $289,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,871 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,187,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $1,723,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS opened at $259.12 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $16.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 0.81. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $263.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $275.88. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.85 and a 52-week high of $316.29.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $465.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 in the prior year, the business earned $3.94 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 3.890-3.990 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 15.800-16.020 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $320.00 to $309.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Essex Property Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $283.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of 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 note on Tuesday, June 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $297.28.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ESS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.