Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Sets New 52-Week High at $253.53

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $253.53 and last traded at $250.58, with a volume of 22280 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $249.80.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ESS. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $250.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Mizuho upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $247.24.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 3.26 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The firm has a market cap of $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.56.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 632.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,719,000 after purchasing an additional 12,954 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 201.1% in the 4th 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 purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $3,304,000. JLP Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $2,802,000. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

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.