Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Now Covered by Barclays

Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $316.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.11.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $294.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $18.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $298.42 and its 200-day moving average is $290.64. Essex Property Trust has a one year low of $223.06 and a one year high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). The firm 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 114.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 121.8% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in 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.