Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS – Get Rating) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-three brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $252.47.

ESS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. Bank of America downgraded Essex Property Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $265.00 to $233.00 in a research report on Monday, November 14th. UBS Group started coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $226.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho lowered their target price on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $221.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 10th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on Essex Property Trust from $235.00 to $211.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 29th.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Amal M. Johnson bought 500 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $218.44 per share, with a total value of $109,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $436,880. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS stock opened at $226.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $14.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.72. Essex Property Trust has a 1 year low of $205.24 and a 1 year high of $363.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $215.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.78.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 3rd were issued a $2.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 30th. This represents a $8.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Essex Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 159.42%.

About Essex Property Trust

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Essex Property Trust, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust. It engages in the ownership, operation, management, acquisition, development, and redevelopment of predominantly apartment communities. The company was founded by George M. Marcus in 1971 and is headquartered in San Mateo, CA.

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