Wealthstar Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Wealthstar Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,855 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,488,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 486.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 85.2% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ESS. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of 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. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $355.00 price target (down from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $310.28.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $285.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.85 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The stock has a market cap of $18.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a P/E/G ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.78. The company's fifty day moving average is $281.98 and its 200 day moving average is $286.06.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.05. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 37.08% and a return on equity of 11.81%. The company had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $458.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is 98.37%.

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.

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