Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock Price

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its target price lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $314.00 to $305.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 9.94% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on ESS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $297.00 to $303.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $323.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $316.00 to $302.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $308.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.32.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $277.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.41, a PEG ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.92. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $223.06 and a 52-week high of $317.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $290.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $291.99.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.88 by ($2.04). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 31.55%. The company had revenue of $450.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $445.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ESS. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.5% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,492 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 17.9% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 8,991 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,447,000 after acquiring an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 100.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 53,545 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,575,000 after acquiring an additional 26,849 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 60.5% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 12,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,347,000 after purchasing an additional 4,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 1.0% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 6,294 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,713,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.