Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Upgraded at BMO Capital Markets

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) was upgraded by BMO Capital Markets from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $310.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their previous target price of $323.00. BMO Capital Markets’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 13.62% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on ESS. Bank of America lowered Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays began coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $316.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James lowered Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $305.42.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $272.83 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essex Property Trust has a 12-month low of $223.06 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $294.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $291.56.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). The firm had revenue of $450.70 million for 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 quarter last year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. KBC Group NV increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 162.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 74,841 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,109,000 after acquiring an additional 46,354 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $541,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 92.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 237.7% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,761 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 8,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,537,000 after acquiring an additional 3,018 shares during the period. 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.