Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Shares Break Above 50 Day Moving Average on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Essex Property Trust shares rose above their 50-day moving average of $272.36, reaching $277.48 before last trading at about $275.56; Weiss Ratings raised its rating from Hold (C) to Hold (C+).
• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: MarketBeat reports a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $297.73 price target, with 21 analysts rating the stock Buy or Strong Buy.
• The REIT reported quarterly EPS of $1.52, below the $4.01 consensus estimate, while revenue slightly exceeded expectations. It paid a quarterly dividend of $2.59 per share, equivalent to a 3.8% annualized yield.

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday after Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock from a hold (c) rating to a hold (c+) rating. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $272.36 and traded as high as $277.48. Essex Property Trust shares last traded at $275.5590, with a volume of 454,903 shares changing hands.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on ESS. Citigroup raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "buy" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $291.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $292.75 price objective on Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group set a $290.00 price objective on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $293.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $297.73.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESS. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,166,555,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at about $260,252,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 23,177.2% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 757,439 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $220,862,000 after purchasing an additional 754,185 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth about $135,837,000. Finally, Aew Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth about $83,717,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $272.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $270.14. The company has a market capitalization of $17.73 billion, a PE ratio of 51.12, a P/E/G ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 0.69.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.01 by ($2.49). The firm had revenue of $492.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $491.01 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 17.84% and a return on equity of 6.24%. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.97 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $2.59 dividend. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust's payout ratio is 192.21%.

About Essex Property Trust

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