Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after Raymond James raised their price target on the stock from $295.00 to $325.00. Raymond James currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Essex Property Trust traded as high as $299.25 and last traded at $299.01, with a volume of 123000 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $296.09.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $268.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $250.00 to $266.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total transaction of $1,051,860.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,641,895.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Essex Property Trust news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total value of $1,051,860.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,641,895.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total value of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,425,519.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 214.3% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 600.0% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 112.3% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 138 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $19.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 3.19, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $281.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $260.04.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). The company had revenue of $442.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $433.26 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 9.14%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.77 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.