Piper Sandler Downgrades Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) to Neutral

Key Points

• Piper Sandler has downgraded Essex Property Trust from an "overweight" to a "neutral" rating, setting a target price of $275.00, which suggests a potential upside of 7.19% from its previous close.
• Market analysts are divided on Essex Property Trust, with one sell rating, twelve hold ratings, and seven buy ratings, leading to an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $308.47.
• Essex Property Trust reported an EPS of $4.03 for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $3.99, alongside revenue of $465.84 million, slightly below expectations.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Piper Sandler from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $275.00 price target on the real estate investment trust's stock, down from their prior price target of $355.00. Piper Sandler's price target indicates a potential upside of 8.07% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, June 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $308.26.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded down $2.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $254.48. 366,916 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 494,170. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $16.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a P/E/G ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 0.80. Essex Property Trust has a 1 year low of $243.85 and a 1 year high of $317.73. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $281.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $285.14.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $465.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.94 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 105.2% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,462 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,398,000 after purchasing an additional 4,339 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2.7% during the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 36,439 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,327,000 after buying an additional 975 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.9% in the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 28,541 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,089,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.3% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 9,654 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,736,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,825,007 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $515,226,000 after acquiring an additional 23,565 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

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.