Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock Rating Upgraded by BMO Capital Markets

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $310.00 price target on the real estate investment trust's stock, down from their previous price target of $323.00. BMO Capital Markets' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 10.80% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ESS. Mizuho lowered their target price 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. Barclays assumed coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $316.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Essex Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $309.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Essex Property Trust from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $305.42.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS stock traded up $7.89 on Monday, reaching $279.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 149,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 483,348. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $294.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.56. Essex Property Trust has a 1 year low of $223.06 and a 1 year high of $317.73. The company has a market capitalization of $17.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESS. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,726,072 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $508,381,000 after purchasing an additional 25,591 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,329,516 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $392,766,000 after buying an additional 183,947 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 941,501 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $256,280,000 after buying an additional 12,822 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 754,179 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $222,800,000 after acquiring an additional 47,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.8% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 741,053 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $201,715,000 after purchasing an additional 6,216 shares during 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.