Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald lowered its price target for Essex Property Trust from $316 to $305 but maintained an “overweight” rating; its revised target implies 11.95% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive: the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $297.73, with 11 Buy/Strong Buy, 10 Hold, and one Sell rating.
• Essex reported quarterly EPS of $1.52, below the $4.01 consensus estimate, while revenue of $492.69 million slightly exceeded expectations of $491.01 million.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $316.00 to $305.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.95% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on ESS. Citizens Jmp raised Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $330.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $279.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. Mizuho lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $308.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $297.73.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $272.44 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $272.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $270.05. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $238.46 and a 52-week high of $303.35. The company has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a PE ratio of 50.55, a P/E/G ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.69.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.01 by ($2.49). The business had revenue of $492.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $491.01 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 17.84% and a return on equity of 6.24%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.97 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 16.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Optas LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 7.1% in the third quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 54,596 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $14,708,000 after purchasing an additional 7,340 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 99,104 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,698,000 after purchasing an additional 3,878 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,445 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 422,081 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $113,762,000 after purchasing an additional 65,160 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Essex Property Trust

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