Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target Lowered to $302.00 at Barclays

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its target price reduced by Barclays from $316.00 to $302.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.82% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.79.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $277.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $223.06 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The company has a market capitalization of $17.84 billion, a PE ratio of 32.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $291.91 and a 200-day moving average of $292.06.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). The firm had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 earned $3.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 15.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESS. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2,400.0% in 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 during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 104.5% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,000. 96.51% of the stock is 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.