Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target Increased to $264.00 by Analysts at Wedbush

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by analysts at Wedbush from $240.00 to $264.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. Wedbush's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.27% from the company's current price.

ESS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James upgraded Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $227.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $275.00 in a report on Monday, April 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $249.76.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 2.1 %

ESS stock traded up $5.32 during trading on Monday, reaching $255.63. The stock had a trading volume of 282,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 405,287. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $240.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.28. The company has a market capitalization of $16.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.25, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.79. Essex Property Trust has a 1-year low of $203.85 and a 1-year high of $255.66.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ESS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $675,183,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,072,004 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $761,760,000 after purchasing an additional 730,141 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 86.5% during the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 997,792 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $244,269,000 after purchasing an additional 462,828 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 119.3% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 412,721 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $102,602,000 after purchasing an additional 224,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 5,069.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 208,651 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,253,000 after purchasing an additional 204,615 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently 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.