Mizuho Cuts Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target to $300.00

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by Mizuho from $325.00 to $300.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. Mizuho's price objective indicates a potential upside of 9.94% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $240.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $316.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $333.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $305.17.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS stock traded down $11.37 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $272.88. 371,726 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 328,542. 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 cap of $17.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $295.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $291.68.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). The company 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.56 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,675 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,334,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,259 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 39.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 509 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 7.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 48,200 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,043,000 after purchasing an additional 3,316 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company's stock.

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.