Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stifel Nicolaus Analyst Says

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $301.50 to $305.50 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target suggests a potential upside of 17.50% from the company’s current price.

ESS has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $355.00 price target (down from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $312.92.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $259.99 on Wednesday. Essex Property Trust has a 12-month low of $243.85 and a 12-month high of $317.73. The company has a market cap of $16.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $283.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $286.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.99 by $0.04. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 43.51%. The firm had revenue of $465.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 300.0% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

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.