Piper Sandler Boosts Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target to $355.00

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price objective hoisted by Piper Sandler from $315.00 to $355.00 in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on ESS. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $255.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $264.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Two 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $271.95.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Essex Property Trust stock 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’s 50 day moving average price is $281.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $259.05. The stock 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 company has a quick ratio of 3.19, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $433.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.77 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 15.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESS. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.7% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 5.4% in the second quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.6% in the second quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 8,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,368,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 10.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 591 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.5% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 11,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,765,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.