Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) PT Raised to $243.50

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price target increased by Stifel Nicolaus from $239.50 to $243.50 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Essex Property Trust from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Saturday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $281.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target 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, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $247.24.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $250.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.60, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.79. Essex Property Trust has a 1-year low of $203.85 and a 1-year high of $253.53. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $240.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.77. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $2.45 dividend. 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 3.92%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 119.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 632.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,719,000 after purchasing an additional 12,954 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 201.1% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 534,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $132,639,000 after buying an additional 357,268 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $3,304,000. JLP Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $2,802,000. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

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.