Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Earns “Overweight” Rating from Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $291.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

ESS has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a hold rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $281.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Essex Property Trust from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $243.74.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of ESS opened at $244.81 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $228.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 3.26. Essex Property Trust has a 52 week low of $201.66 and a 52 week high of $252.85.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a $2.45 dividend. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 146.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 632.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,719,000 after acquiring an additional 12,954 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.2% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,304,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.2% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 27,246 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,779,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524 shares during the period. Finally, Credit Suisse AG increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 19.1% during the second quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 144,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,950,000 after purchasing an additional 23,245 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently 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.