Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Now Covered by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $318.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

ESS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wedbush increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $281.25.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $298.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.46, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $284.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. Essex Property Trust has a 1 year low of $203.85 and a 1 year high of $307.75.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.85 by ($2.40). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The company had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.77 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 119.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total transaction of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,425,519.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total value of $1,051,860.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,641,895.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total value of $2,745,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,425,519.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,233 shares of company stock valued at $4,533,461 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.4% in the second quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 8,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,368,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 591 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 11,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,765,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.