Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Receives $297.00 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $297.00.

ESS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James lowered Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $318.00 price objective on the stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $301.45 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $297.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $287.90. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $218.59 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The firm has a market cap of $19.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.22, a PEG ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). The business had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.88 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. Analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total transaction of $2,308,430.38. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $817,661.35. This trade represents a 73.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 8,080 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.10, for a total value of $2,546,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,559.40. This represents a 45.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,949 shares of company stock valued at $5,663,763. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 48,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,043,000 after purchasing an additional 3,316 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 99.9% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,648 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $217,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $575,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 92.2% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is 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.