Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Given New $317.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $315.00 to $317.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price target indicates a potential upside of 13.97% from the stock's current price.

ESS has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $303.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho lowered 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 note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $355.00 price objective (down from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $312.17.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.3%

ESS traded up $3.55 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $278.15. The stock had a trading volume of 191,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 406,555. The company has a market capitalization of $17.91 billion, a PE ratio of 24.10, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. Essex Property Trust has a twelve month low of $243.85 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $281.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.25.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $464.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.03 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 41.79% and a return on equity of 13.05%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $2,298,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,077,170. The trade was a 31.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $527,904. This represents a 61.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539. Corporate insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth about $35,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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