Continuum Advisory LLC Raises Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 52.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 390 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 486.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 85.2% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 46.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS stock opened at $282.23 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.01, a PEG ratio of 5.97 and a beta of 0.78. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.85 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $281.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $286.32.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $458.03 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 37.08% and a return on equity of 11.81%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.83 EPS. Analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 98.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.28.

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.