Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Given a $270.00 Price Target by Canaccord Genuity Analysts

Canaccord Genuity set a $270.00 price objective on Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in a report issued on Monday, July 31st. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on ESS. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. Barclays PLC reiterated an overweight rating and set a $262.00 price target (up from $255.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $199.00 to $212.00 in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a buy rating and set a $269.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $267.00 price target (up from $248.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, May 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $263.46.

Essex Property Trust (ESS) opened at 259.14 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.32 and a beta of 0.52. Essex Property Trust has a 12-month low of $200.01 and a 12-month high of $268.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $260.52 and a 200 day moving average of $245.65.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.05. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 38.33% and a return on equity of 8.03%. The firm had revenue of $339.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.17 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.74 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post $5.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 14th. Investors of record on Friday, June 30th were paid a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 28th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.97%.

In related news, insider John D. Eudy sold 166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.79, for a total value of $42,129.14. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,596 shares in the company, valued at $2,181,578.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Irving F. Lyons III sold 1,024 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.22, for a total transaction of $260,321.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,250,863.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,690 shares of company stock valued at $1,717,142 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESS. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,296.8% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,479,030 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,500,090,000 after buying an additional 6,208,705 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 139.6% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 950,717 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $220,119,000 after buying an additional 553,947 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 38.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,488,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $382,832,000 after buying an additional 412,316 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth about $61,713,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,404,375 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,640,455,000 after buying an additional 229,503 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.88% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

Essex Property Trust, Inc is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust. The Company is engaged primarily in the ownership, operation, management, acquisition, development and redevelopment of predominantly apartment communities, located along the West Coast. Its segments include Southern California, Northern California, Seattle Metro and Other real estate assets.