Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Reaches New 12-Month High at $253.53

Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $253.53 and last traded at $250.58, with a volume of 22280 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $249.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ESS shares. Bank of America raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $250.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Monday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $227.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $291.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $247.24.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.60, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $240.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $232.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 3.26.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 119.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,072,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $761,760,000 after purchasing an additional 730,141 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $675,183,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 86.5% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 997,792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $244,269,000 after buying an additional 462,828 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 6.1% during the 3rd 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. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 828,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $175,651,000 after acquiring an additional 71,359 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.