Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 2.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,378,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 34,248 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $368,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Tobam boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 167.3% during the second quarter. Tobam now owns 131 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of ESS opened at $251.76 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $257.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $261.56. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.25 and a 12-month high of $316.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $16.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $473.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $472.11 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 45.46% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ESS. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $280.00 to $268.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays reissued a “positive” rating and set a $292.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $282.00 target price (down from $304.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Monday, January 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $285.70.

Essex Property Trust Profile

Essex Property Trust, Inc (NYSE: ESS) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on market-rate apartment communities and delivers a full suite of property services including leasing, resident services, asset management, and capital improvement programs designed to preserve and enhance long‑term property values.

Essex concentrates its portfolio in West Coast markets, with a significant presence in California and the Pacific Northwest.