Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target Raised to $297.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price objective lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $265.00 to $297.00 in a report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on 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. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $291.10.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $312.42 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $20.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.19, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $203.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $291.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.92.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). The company had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.26 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 30.31%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.77 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total transaction of $2,308,430.38. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at $817,661.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,402 shares of company stock valued at $6,399,663. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.