BMO Capital Markets Upgrades Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) to “Outperform”

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) was upgraded by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $310.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $323.00. BMO Capital Markets’ target price points to a potential upside of 8.93% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $316.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $305.42.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $284.59 on Monday. Essex Property Trust has a twelve month low of $223.06 and a twelve month high of $317.73. The company has a market capitalization of $18.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $294.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.71.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). The company had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.88 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 15.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 732.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 719,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $212,583,000 after buying an additional 633,200 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 27,120.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 425,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $115,881,000 after purchasing an additional 424,157 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $98,594,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $84,393,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 154.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 444,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $131,282,000 after buying an additional 269,923 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.