Cantor Fitzgerald Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald raised Essex Property Trust’s price target from $291 to $316 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying approximately 11% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $303.99; recent targets range as high as $352 from Piper Sandler.
• Essex shares opened at $284.68 and remain below their 52-week high of $303.35. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the company, while an insider recently reduced holdings by selling 600 shares.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $291.00 to $316.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.00% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $310.00 to $352.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Truist Financial upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $273.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $303.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $277.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $303.99.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $284.68 on Monday. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $238.46 and a fifty-two week high of $303.35. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $286.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $18.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.27, a PEG ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 0.70.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,394 shares in the company, valued at $669,003.30. This represents a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 54.4% in the second quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 2,383 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 53.8% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 63,326 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $18,465,000 after buying an additional 22,157 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $606,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 523.1% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 162 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 18,292 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,334,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc NYSE: ESS is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on market-rate apartment communities and delivers a full suite of property services including leasing, resident services, asset management, and capital improvement programs designed to preserve and enhance long‑term property values.

Essex concentrates its portfolio in West Coast markets, with a significant presence in California and the Pacific Northwest.

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