Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Coverage Initiated at Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald has upgraded Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) to a strong-buy rating, as reported on Wednesday.
• Essex Property Trust recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $4.03, surpassing the consensus estimate of $3.99.
• The company currently has a market cap of $17.20 billion and an average rating of "Hold" from analysts, with a consensus target price of $297.28.

Investment analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set an "overweight" rating and a $300.00 price target on the real estate investment trust's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's price target points to a potential upside of 12.33% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on ESS. UBS Group lowered their price target on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $279.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $297.28.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $267.08 on Wednesday. Essex Property Trust has a 12-month low of $243.85 and a 12-month high of $316.29. The company has a market cap of $17.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.47, a P/E/G ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $265.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $277.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $465.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $466.47 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 43.51%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.94 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 3.890-3.990 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 15.800-16.020 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 300.0% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the first quarter valued at $35,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.