Wexford Capital LP Acquires New Shares in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $571,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ESS. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 711.8% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 13,800 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,939,000 after acquiring an additional 12,100 shares during the period. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 301.2% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 650 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 34,354 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,806,000 after purchasing an additional 2,574 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 355.4% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 3,197 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $913,000 after buying an additional 2,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 175,435 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $50,076,000 after buying an additional 23,842 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded down $3.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $269.80. The stock had a trading volume of 304,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 405,887. The company has a market cap of $17.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The business's 50 day moving average price is $283.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. 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 data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The business had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $458.03 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.83 EPS. Research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 98.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $370.00 to $355.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Mizuho cut their price target on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $311.78.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $527,904. This represents a 61.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. 3.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Essex Property Trust Company 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.