Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 251,092 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the previous session’s volume of 371,489 shares.The stock last traded at $282.62 and had previously closed at $279.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ESS. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.11.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 2.6 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $298.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.52. The firm has a market cap of $18.40 billion, a PE ratio of 33.44, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESS. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $508,381,000 after buying an additional 25,591 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 16.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $392,766,000 after acquiring an additional 183,947 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.4% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,001,769 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $272,682,000 after acquiring an additional 3,977 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 941,501 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $256,280,000 after acquiring an additional 12,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 754,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $222,800,000 after purchasing an additional 47,114 shares during the last quarter. 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.