Brokerages Set Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) PT at $245.37

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $245.37.

Several research firms have issued reports on ESS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Essex Property Trust from $225.00 to $223.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $281.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $242.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $237.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.38. The company has a current ratio of 3.26, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Essex Property Trust has a 1-year low of $203.85 and a 1-year high of $252.85.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were paid a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 155.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,072,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $761,760,000 after acquiring an additional 730,141 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $675,183,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 6.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 978,639 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $207,560,000 after buying an additional 55,903 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 9.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 828,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $175,651,000 after buying an additional 71,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 13.0% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 776,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $164,233,000 after buying an additional 89,198 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.