Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target to $305.00

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price target dropped by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $314.00 to $305.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 10.90% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on ESS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.32.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS traded down $2.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $275.02. The stock had a trading volume of 42,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 466,435. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company’s fifty day moving average is $291.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.06. Essex Property Trust has a 52 week low of $223.06 and a 52 week high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). The firm 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.58 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,041,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

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.