Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Given New $302.00 Price Target at Barclays

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price target lowered by Barclays from $316.00 to $302.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James downgraded Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.32.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.1 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $277.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $291.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $291.96. Essex Property Trust has a 1-year low of $223.06 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). The business had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 104.5% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $89,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.