Piper Sandler Lowers Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target to $355.00

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at Piper Sandler from $370.00 to $355.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. Piper Sandler's price target suggests a potential upside of 30.69% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on ESS. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on 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. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $312.17.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of ESS stock opened at $271.63 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $283.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.78. Essex Property Trust has a 1-year low of $243.85 and a 1-year high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.05. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 41.79%. The business had revenue of $464.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $458.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 7,298 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $2,298,870.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,077,170. This trade represents a 31.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Kasaris sold 2,800 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.80, for a total transaction of $842,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $527,904. The trade was a 61.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,345 shares of company stock valued at $6,682,539 in the last three months. 3.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. 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.

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