Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock Price

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its target price dropped by stock analysts at Barclays from $316.00 to $302.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 8.86% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on ESS. Mizuho lowered their price target on Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.32.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE ESS opened at $277.43 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $290.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $291.99. 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 stock has a market cap of $17.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.92. Essex Property Trust has a twelve month low of $223.06 and a twelve month high of $317.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 4.7% during the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in 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 worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,041,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 948 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is 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.