JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target to $297.00

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $265.00 to $297.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 5.33% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on ESS. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $268.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $309.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.90.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ESS traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $313.72. 20,931 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 372,394. Essex Property Trust has a 12 month low of $203.85 and a 12 month high of $315.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $288.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.14 billion, a PE ratio of 38.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.88.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($2.40). The company had revenue of $442.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.26 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 30.31%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.77 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 15.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essex Property Trust

In other news, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total transaction of $1,051,860.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,641,895.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Amal M. Johnson sold 2,453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $735,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,641,895.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $384,000. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 20,707 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,636,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1,319.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 880 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $98,594,000. Finally, Scientech Research LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $616,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.