Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) PT Raised to $329.00

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Scotiabank from $309.00 to $329.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector outperform” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Scotiabank’s price target suggests a potential upside of 5.45% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $291.10.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 1.0 %

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $311.99 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $290.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.29. Essex Property Trust has a 1-year low of $203.85 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,641,895.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of Essex Property Trust 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,641,895.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ESS. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $134,000. ING Groep NV grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 5,687 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth $675,183,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 256.0% in the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 2,111 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 236,140 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $58,549,000 after buying an additional 34,931 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.