Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS – Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $235.00 to $211.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $241.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, March 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $256.15.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $207.19 on Thursday. Essex Property Trust has a 12-month low of $205.24 and a 12-month high of $363.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $13.37 billion, a PE ratio of 32.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $225.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $226.99.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.20. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 140.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. US Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.76% of the company’s stock.

About Essex Property Trust

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Essex Property Trust, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust. It engages in the ownership, operation, management, acquisition, development, and redevelopment of predominantly apartment communities. The company was founded by George M. Marcus in 1971 and is headquartered in San Mateo, CA.