Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Receives “Market Perform” Rating from JMP Securities

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reiterated by stock analysts at JMP Securities in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on ESS. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $314.00 to $305.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.32.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $296.37. 70,172 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 457,723. The business’s 50 day moving average is $287.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.36. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $223.06 and a fifty-two week high of $317.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 6.60 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.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $2.52. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. On average, equities analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ESS. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth $384,000. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 13,080 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,864,000 after buying an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 7.4% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 781 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the third quarter worth about $204,000. 96.51% of the stock is 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.