Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Short Interest Up 10.4% in March

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,480,000 shares, an increase of 10.4% from the March 15th total of 1,340,000 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 405,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS traded down $3.72 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $235.57. The company had a trading volume of 248,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 400,887. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.32. Essex Property Trust has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $252.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.80.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 155.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on ESS. Raymond James raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Bank of America raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $250.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Mizuho raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $291.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $245.37.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 120 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 111.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth about $32,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.