Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Short Interest Down 26.2% in January

by · The Markets Daily

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS – Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,583,567 shares, a drop of 26.2% from the December 31st total of 2,145,956 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 633,077 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 633,077 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at $1,664,000. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth about $223,000. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2.5% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 11,286 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,198,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 3.5% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 18,499 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,243,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $271.00 and set a “cautious” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $280.00 to $268.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Barclays reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $292.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $282.00 price objective (down from $304.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Monday, December 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $285.70.

Get Our Latest Research Report on ESS

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE ESS traded down $1.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $247.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 448,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 585,637. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $256.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $261.11. Essex Property Trust has a 1 year low of $243.25 and a 1 year high of $316.29.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $2.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.12%.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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