Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 693,500 shares, a decline of 12.6% from the July 15th total of 793,900 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 359,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS traded up $1.40 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $285.41. The stock had a trading volume of 160,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 379,989. Essex Property Trust has a 12 month low of $203.85 and a 12 month high of $292.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $279.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $256.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 3.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.33 billion, a PE ratio of 34.89, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.86.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The firm had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.77 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.53 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total value of $1,051,860.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,641,895.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total transaction of $1,051,860.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,641,895.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total transaction of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $4,425,519.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 111.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 112.3% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 138 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $232.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $244.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $266.75.

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.