Essex Property Trust (ESS) Raised to Overweight at Citigroup

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Citigroup to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, The Fly reports. The firm presently has a $278.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior target price of $253.00. Citigroup’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.62% from the company’s current price. The analysts noted that the move was a valuation call.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, December 27th. BTIG Research raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $273.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Essex Property Trust from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $274.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $257.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Monday, November 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Sunday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $271.06.

Essex Property Trust (ESS) traded up $2.46 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $242.54. 322,120 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 316,610. The company has a market capitalization of $16,010.00, a PE ratio of 30.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.50. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $218.41 and a 52-week high of $270.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

In related news, CFO Angela L. Kleiman sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.16, for a total value of $148,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,777 shares in the company, valued at $1,922,163.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Schall sold 333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.92, for a total transaction of $85,887.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,631,160.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,269 shares of company stock valued at $2,558,882 over the last quarter. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 145.3% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 471 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Sun Life Financial INC boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 5,900.0% during the second quarter. Sun Life Financial INC now owns 480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. Breton Hill Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at about $200,000. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Beaton Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at about $207,000. Institutional investors own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

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About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust. The Company is engaged primarily in the ownership, operation, management, acquisition, development and redevelopment of predominantly apartment communities, located along the West Coast. Its segments include Southern California, Northern California, Seattle Metro and Other real estate assets.

The Fly

Analyst Recommendations for Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS)