Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Given New $315.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price objective lifted by Piper Sandler from $291.00 to $315.00 in a research report report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ESS. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Essex Property Trust from $259.00 to $255.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Raymond James upgraded Essex Property Trust from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $239.50 to $243.50 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $249.76.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:ESS traded up $2.24 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $257.73. 6,651 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 400,756. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 3.19 and a current ratio of 3.19. Essex Property Trust has a twelve month low of $203.85 and a twelve month high of $257.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $240.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.28. The firm has a market cap of $16.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.79.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were given a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 119.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 12.9% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,099 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.2% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,265 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 243.6% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 35,951 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,454,000 after buying an additional 25,488 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.8% in the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 3,036 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $881,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

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.