Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Given New $304.00 Price Target at Barclays

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at Barclays from $302.00 to $304.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 3.27% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ESS. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $302.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $306.63.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of ESS stock opened at $294.37 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $285.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.80. Essex Property Trust has a 12-month low of $225.40 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The firm has a market cap of $18.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.92.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,334,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 162.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 19,656 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,611,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $541,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 15,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,516 shares in the last quarter. 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.