Avanza Fonder AB Invests $1.44 Million in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,056 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,443,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 237.7% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,761 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $443,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 10.9% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 4.5% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,492 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 315,454 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $85,867,000 after buying an additional 3,750 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $283.20 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $223.06 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The company has a market capitalization of $18.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.08, a PEG ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $293.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $291.67.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. The firm had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James cut shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays assumed 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 price objective for the company. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $305.42.

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.