Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target Cut to $259.00 by Analysts at Truist Financial

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Free Report) had its price objective decreased by Truist Financial from $276.00 to $259.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the real estate investment trust's stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on ESS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Essex Property Trust from $225.00 to $223.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a sell rating and set a $227.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $243.74.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of ESS traded up $3.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $244.81. The stock had a trading volume of 349,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 419,261. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $228.34. Essex Property Trust has a twelve month low of $201.66 and a twelve month high of $252.85. The firm has a market cap of $15.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 3.26 and a quick ratio of 3.26.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.00%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is 146.43%.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,614,782 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,667,195,000 after acquiring an additional 184,047 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,712,755 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,419,056,000 after purchasing an additional 874,625 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,072,004 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $761,760,000 after purchasing an additional 730,141 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $675,183,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,685,715 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $417,959,000 after buying an additional 162,809 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company's stock.

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.