Short Interest in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Drops By 6.9%

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 910,000 shares, a decline of 6.9% from the November 15th total of 977,700 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 365,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total value of $2,308,430.38. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The trade was a 73.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 162.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 74,841 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,109,000 after buying an additional 46,354 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 237.7% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 1,761 shares during the period. ING Groep NV raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 54.2% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 8,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,537,000 after purchasing an additional 3,018 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 74.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,719 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth $541,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Essex Property Trust stock traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $299.17. 320,500 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 371,407. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $298.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust has a 1 year low of $223.06 and a 1 year high of $317.73. The company has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.02, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.90.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). The business had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.88 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.56 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.45 per share. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.00.

About Essex Property Trust

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.