Raymond James Downgrades Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) to Market Perform

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) was downgraded by analysts at Raymond James from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $269.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.40.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.7 %

ESS opened at $293.40 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.88. Essex Property Trust has a 12 month low of $203.85 and a 12 month high of $317.73. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $296.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.85 by ($2.40). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The business had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.77 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,500. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 7,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.31, for a total transaction of $2,308,430.38. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $817,661.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,402 shares of company stock worth $6,399,663. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 121.8% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth $66,000. 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.