Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. Increases Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Key Points

• Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 17.2%, owning 55,866 shares worth approximately $17.1 million, making it the 18th largest position in their portfolio.
• Recent analyst reports have seen shifts in price targets for Essex Property Trust, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $300.44.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.57 per share to be paid on October 15th, representing an annualized yield of 3.8%.

Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) by 17.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,866 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 8,205 shares during the period. Essex Property Trust accounts for 1.7% of Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.09% of Essex Property Trust worth $17,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Capital Analysts LLC grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 56.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 136 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 34.8% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 190 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays decreased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $335.00 to $298.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $300.44.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $268.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $17.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 6.89 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $272.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $281.57. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company earned $3.94 earnings per share. 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 anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.64%.

Essex Property Trust 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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