Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Given New $309.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its target price increased by Scotiabank from $290.00 to $309.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on ESS. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $261.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $271.95.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $294.62 on Monday. Essex Property Trust has a 52 week low of $203.85 and a 52 week high of $298.19. 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 firm has a market cap of $18.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $281.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $259.05.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 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 analysts’ expectations of $433.26 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.77 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 15.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total value of $2,745,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $4,425,519.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total transaction of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,425,519.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were 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 owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,641,895.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 214.3% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 600.0% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 112.3% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 138 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Essex Property Trust

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.