Stifel Nicolaus Raises Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target to $243.50

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price objective lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $239.50 to $243.50 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Mizuho raised Essex Property Trust from a neutral rating to a buy rating and reduced their target price for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Saturday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essex Property Trust from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $281.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a sell rating and set a $227.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $247.24.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $250.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.59, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.79. Essex Property Trust has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $253.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $239.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 3.19.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 119.80%.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,913 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 2,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $633,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 10.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 591 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.5% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 11,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,765,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is 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.