Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stifel Nicolaus Analyst Says

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus has raised its price target for Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) from $301.50 to $305.50, indicating a potential upside of 4.96% from the stock's previous close.
• Despite the price target increase, the brokerage currently maintains a "hold" rating on the stock, which has an average rating of "Hold" from multiple analysts.
• Essex Property Trust reported $4.03 earnings per share for its most recent quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $3.99 by $0.04.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $301.50 to $305.50 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "hold" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective points to a potential upside of 19.62% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted 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 report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $293.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $295.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $311.00 to $309.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $312.92.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS traded down $4.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $255.40. The stock had a trading volume of 42,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 483,892. The firm has a market cap of $16.44 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $283.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $286.08. Essex Property Trust has a twelve month low of $243.85 and a twelve month high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.99 by $0.04. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 43.51%. The firm had revenue of $465.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.94 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 300.0% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. 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.