Essex Property Trust’s (ESS) Neutral Rating Reaffirmed at Wedbush

Wedbush reiterated their neutral rating on shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) in a research note published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Wedbush currently has a $240.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a hold rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a sell rating and issued a $227.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Mizuho raised Essex Property Trust from a neutral rating to a buy rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $246.16.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS stock opened at $248.02 on Monday. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $203.85 and a 52-week high of $252.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 3.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.31, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $239.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $232.16.

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 given a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 155.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESS. Czech National Bank raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 11,217 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 3,618 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 1.8% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 35,333 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,494,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,099 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 173.9% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 135,008 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,634,000 after buying an additional 85,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 9,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.