Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday.

ESS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $330.00 price target on Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday. Mizuho increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Monday, July 20th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $292.75 target price on Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $303.99.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS stock opened at $285.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $18.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.46, a P/E/G ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $287.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.57. Essex Property Trust has a one year low of $238.46 and a one year high of $303.35.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $2.59 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 161.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $669,003.30. This trade represents a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $230,690,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 973.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 743,954 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $199,127,000 after acquiring an additional 674,617 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,679,607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $439,520,000 after purchasing an additional 301,349 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 958,090 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $250,714,000 after purchasing an additional 228,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rush Island Management LP grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 26.8% in the first quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 807,893 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $195,510,000 after purchasing an additional 170,682 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

Essex Property Trust, Inc (NYSE: ESS) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on market-rate apartment communities and delivers a full suite of property services including leasing, resident services, asset management, and capital improvement programs designed to preserve and enhance long‑term property values.

Essex concentrates its portfolio in West Coast markets, with a significant presence in California and the Pacific Northwest.