Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS – Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $262.15.
ESS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $232.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $243.50 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $250.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Monday, April 1st.
View Our Latest Analysis on Essex Property Trust
Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust
In other news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total transaction of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,425,519.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total value of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,425,519.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total value of $1,051,860.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,641,895.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 645.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 54,632 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,543,000 after buying an additional 1,426 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $2,502,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,136 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 5,936 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,472,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.
Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.4 %
Essex Property Trust stock opened at $286.74 on Friday. Essex Property Trust has a 12-month low of $203.85 and a 12-month high of $292.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 3.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.41 billion, a PE ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $252.21.
Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.80%.
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.
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