Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Given Market Perform Rating at JMP Securities

JMP Securities reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on ESS. Raymond James downgraded Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $316.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $305.42.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS stock opened at $284.04 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $293.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $291.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essex Property Trust has a 12 month low of $223.06 and a 12 month high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. The business had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 114.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 4.7% during the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,041,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.6% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.