JPMorgan Chase & Co. Downgrades Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) to Underweight

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) was downgraded by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They currently have a $303.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous price target of $297.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 1.28% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on ESS. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $333.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $307.00 to $321.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.32.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $299.17 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $223.06 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.40. The company has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a PE ratio of 34.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.90.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.88 by ($2.04). The company had revenue of $450.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $445.88 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 31.55% and a return on equity of 9.72%. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 15.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 48,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,043,000 after purchasing an additional 3,316 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 99.9% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,648 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $217,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $575,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 92.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.