Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Given New $243.50 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price objective boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $239.50 to $243.50 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would suggest a potential downside of 1.12% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $281.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Mizuho upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $250.00 to $275.00 in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $247.24.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 0.7 %

ESS opened at $246.25 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 3.26 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The company has a market cap of $15.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $239.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.35. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $203.85 and a fifty-two week high of $252.85.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 12,954 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 201.1% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 534,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $132,639,000 after purchasing an additional 357,268 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $3,304,000. JLP Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $2,802,000. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.