Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target Raised to $328.00

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price target increased by investment analysts at Barclays from $303.00 to $328.00 in a research report issued to clients and 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 indicate a potential upside of 16.06% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned 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 a consensus price target of $308.11.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS stock opened at $282.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $286.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $290.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $243.85 and a 52-week high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.05. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. The business had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $458.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $2,298,870.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This represents a 31.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Barbara Pak sold 6,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.79, for a total value of $1,988,843.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,724,192.66. This represents a 42.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.