Stifel Nicolaus Increases Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target to $243.50

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $239.50 to $243.50 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective suggests a potential downside of 2.68% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $281.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Mizuho upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $291.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $247.24.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

ESS stock traded up $0.41 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $250.21. The stock had a trading volume of 399,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 406,695. The stock has a market cap of $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 3.26. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $239.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.56. Essex Property Trust has a 1-year low of $203.85 and a 1-year high of $253.53.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $675,183,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,072,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $761,760,000 after buying an additional 730,141 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 86.5% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 997,792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $244,269,000 after acquiring an additional 462,828 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 119.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 412,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $102,602,000 after acquiring an additional 224,554 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5,069.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 208,651 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,253,000 after acquiring an additional 204,615 shares in 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.