Xponance Inc. Increases Stock Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 0.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,382 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $2,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 4,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,952 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 778 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 1,217 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ESS. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $310.28.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $284.67 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $18.33 billion, a PE ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 5.97 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average is $283.15 and its 200 day moving average is $285.69. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.85 and a 52 week high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter last year, the company earned $3.83 EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 98.37%.

Essex Property Trust 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.