JMP Securities Reiterates Market Perform Rating for Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS)

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

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Mizuho reduced their price target on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $305.74.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS opened at $297.55 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $287.46 and a 200-day moving average of $292.36. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $223.06 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The company has a market cap of $19.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.60 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.