Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Downgraded by Bank of America

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) was downgraded by Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $321.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous price target of $307.00. Bank of America‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 3.67% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on ESS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.40.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $309.65 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $292.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $269.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.85, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust has a 12-month low of $203.85 and a 12-month 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.77 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 15.53 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total transaction of $2,308,430.38. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $817,661.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663 over the last 90 days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth $31,000. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.