Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock Price

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $314.00 to $305.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 9.94% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.32.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $277.43 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $290.92 and a 200 day moving average of $291.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $17.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.92. Essex Property Trust has a 12 month low of $223.06 and a 12 month high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). The firm had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESS. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 732.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $212,583,000 after acquiring an additional 633,200 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $98,594,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the third quarter worth $84,393,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 154.7% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 444,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $131,282,000 after purchasing an additional 269,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 16.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $392,766,000 after buying an additional 183,947 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.