Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases Shares of 131,966 Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies purchased 131,966 shares of Essex Property Trust worth approximately $31.9 million, giving it about a 0.21% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 96.51% of the REIT.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Essex receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $299.08.
• Essex shares opened at $294.42, near their 12-month high of $303.35. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $2.59 per share, representing a 3.5% yield, although its latest quarterly EPS of $1.65 fell well short of the $3.96 consensus estimate.

Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 131,966 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $31,936,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.21% of Essex Property Trust as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 67.8% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ESS shares. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $296.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $299.08.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,394 shares in the company, valued at $669,003.30. The trade was a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $294.42 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $238.46 and a 12 month high of $303.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $286.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.58. The stock has a market cap of $18.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.08, a PEG ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.70.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($2.31). The business had revenue of $484.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $479.89 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.03% and a return on equity of 10.00%. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.97 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $2.59 per share. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.40%.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

Essex Property Trust, Inc NYSE: ESS is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on market-rate apartment communities and delivers a full suite of property services including leasing, resident services, asset management, and capital improvement programs designed to preserve and enhance long‑term property values.

Essex concentrates its portfolio in West Coast markets, with a significant presence in California and the Pacific Northwest.

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