Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target Lowered to $259.00 at Truist Financial

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at Truist Financial from $276.00 to $259.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target indicates a potential upside of 6.41% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on ESS. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $225.00 to $223.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $224.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $227.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $243.74.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS traded up $1.99 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $243.40. 81,170 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 414,600. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.79. Essex Property Trust has a twelve month low of $201.66 and a twelve month high of $252.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $235.98 and a 200 day moving average of $228.25. The company has a current ratio of 3.26, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 632.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,719,000 after acquiring an additional 12,954 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $3,304,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 27,246 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,779,000 after acquiring an additional 2,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Credit Suisse AG grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 19.1% during the 2nd quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 144,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,950,000 after acquiring an additional 23,245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.