Entropy Technologies LP Raises Holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 296.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,686 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,244 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 732.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $212,583,000 after purchasing an additional 633,200 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth about $84,393,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 154.7% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 444,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $131,282,000 after acquiring an additional 269,923 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings 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 worth $392,766,000 after acquiring an additional 183,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 201.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 225,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,443,000 after acquiring an additional 150,927 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $291.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $286.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $292.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.76 billion, a PE ratio of 25.30, a P/E/G ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.92. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $223.06 and a 1 year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Raymond James cut Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $305.74.

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.