Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Upgraded by Raymond James Financial to Outperform Rating

Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $315.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $310.28.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE ESS opened at $286.35 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $281.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $286.35. Essex Property Trust has a one year low of $243.85 and a one year high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $18.44 billion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.78.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 37.08%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.83 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.37%.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,440,274 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,200,675,000 after buying an additional 87,117 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 66.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,746,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $841,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096,619 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,758,174 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $500,688,000 after purchasing an additional 32,102 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $471,258,000. Finally, Wealthquest Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $384,606,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.