Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target Cut to $302.00 by Analysts at Barclays

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

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on ESS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James cut shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $323.00 to $310.00 in a 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.79.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $277.52 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $291.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $17.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.92. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $223.06 and a 52-week high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. Analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 15.58 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,041,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.6% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $432,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 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.