Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock Rating Upgraded by Citizens Jmp

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Citizens Jmp from a “market perform” rating to a “market outperform” rating in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $330.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Citizens Jmp’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 17.22% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group set a $290.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essex Property Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $303.49.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS opened at $281.51 on Friday. Essex Property Trust has a twelve month low of $238.46 and a twelve month high of $303.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $18.09 billion, a PE ratio of 43.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50 day moving average is $286.80 and its 200 day moving average is $266.07.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($2.31). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 7.26%. The business had revenue of $484.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.97 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 16.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total value of $167,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,394 shares in the company, valued at $669,003.30. The trade was a 20.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 54.4% in the second quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 2,383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 53.8% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 63,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $18,465,000 after acquiring an additional 22,157 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 523.1% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 18,292 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,334,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

Essex Property Trust, Inc (NYSE: ESS) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on market-rate apartment communities and delivers a full suite of property services including leasing, resident services, asset management, and capital improvement programs designed to preserve and enhance long‑term property values.

Essex concentrates its portfolio in West Coast markets, with a significant presence in California and the Pacific Northwest.