Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Given New $302.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Evercore ISI from $297.00 to $302.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “in-line” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 4.61% from the company’s previous close.

ESS has been the topic of several other research reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $306.53.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.2 %

ESS stock traded down $3.46 during trading on Monday, reaching $288.68. The company had a trading volume of 82,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 466,530. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust has a 52 week low of $223.06 and a 52 week high of $317.73. The business has a 50 day moving average of $286.78 and a 200 day moving average of $292.46. The company has a market cap of $18.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.92.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

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.