Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Issues Earnings Results

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52, Zacks reports. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded up $3.09 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $287.48. The stock had a trading volume of 530,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 460,861. Essex Property Trust has a 12 month low of $223.06 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The company has a market capitalization of $18.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.58, a PEG ratio of 6.60 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $288.23 and its 200 day moving average is $292.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 114.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James cut Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.32.

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.