Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases New Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 131,966 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $31,936,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 67.8% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $294.42 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $286.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $265.58. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $238.46 and a 52-week high of $303.35. The firm has a market cap of $18.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($2.31). The company had revenue of $484.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $479.89 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 30.03%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.97 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $2.59 per share. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 116.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ESS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $310.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Essex Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $299.08.

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.