Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Essex Property Trust, with 11 buy, one strong-buy, 10 hold and one sell rating among 23 brokerages. The average 12-month price target is approximately $304.99.
• Recent analyst actions were mixed: Bernstein and RBC issued or maintained outperform ratings, while JPMorgan kept an underweight rating and Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock to sell.
• ESS opened at $287.52, with a market capitalization of $18.48 billion; institutional investors own a substantial 96.51% of the company, while a director recently sold 600 shares.

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $304.9875.

ESS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $292.75 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, July 30th.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $287.52 on Monday. Essex Property Trust has a 12 month low of $238.46 and a 12 month high of $303.35. The company has a market cap of $18.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.72, a P/E/G ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $288.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $268.49.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $669,003.30. The trade was a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.47% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,166,555,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,873,698 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $488,601,000 after purchasing an additional 22,835 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,679,607 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $439,520,000 after purchasing an additional 301,349 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 9.5% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,157,617 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $309,848,000 after purchasing an additional 100,730 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 6.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 995,810 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $240,989,000 after purchasing an additional 57,173 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is 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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