Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada has raised the price target for Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $307.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.03% based on the previous close.
• Despite the positive outlook from Royal Bank, Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a "hold" to a "sell," while Mizuho and BMO Capital Markets also adjusted their price targets.
• Essex Property Trust's stock closed at $262.33, with an earnings report showing a profit of $4.03 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $306.00 to $307.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target suggests a potential upside of 19.11% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on ESS. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho decreased their target price 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. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $355.00 target price (down previously from $370.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $301.50 to $305.50 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $308.47.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE ESS traded up $1.03 on Thursday, hitting $257.75. The stock had a trading volume of 35,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 486,304. Essex Property Trust has a one year low of $243.85 and a one year high of $317.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.80. The company's 50-day moving average is $283.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.92.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.99 by $0.04. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 43.51% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The firm had revenue of $465.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $466.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.94 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter valued at approximately $653,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 883 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $705,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 133,886 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $41,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $569,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

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.