Brokerages Set Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Price Target at $245.37

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $245.37.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $291.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $227.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 111.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.5 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $235.17 on Friday. Essex Property Trust has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $252.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $237.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $231.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.26, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.27, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.80.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 155.31%.

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.