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Essex Property Trust ESS shares rallied 4.1% in the last trading session to close at $282.95. This move can be attributable to notable volume with a higher number of shares being traded than in a typical session. This compares to the stock's 9.3% loss over the past four weeks.
The increased investor optimism in the stock can be attributed to the recent announcement from BMO Capital Markets, where its research analyst upgraded the ESS rating to “Outperform” from “Market Perform.”
This real estate investment trust is expected to post quarterly funds from operations (FFO) of $3.90 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +1.8%. Revenues are expected to be $453.16 million, up 7.5% from the year-ago quarter.
While FFO and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in FFO estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
For Essex Property Trust, the consensus estimate for FFO per share for the quarter has been revised marginally higher over the last 30 days to the current level. And a positive trend in FFO estimate revision usually translates into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on ESS going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
Essex Property Trust is a member of the Zacks REIT and Equity Trust - Residential industry. One other stock in the same industry, Invitation Home INVH, finished the last trading session 2.2% higher at $30.94. INVH has returned -8.4% over the past month.
Invitation Home's consensus estimate for FFO per share for the upcoming report has changed -1.8% over the past month to $0.47. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of +4.4%. Invitation Home currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
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Essex Property Trust, Inc. (ESS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Invitation Home (INVH) : Free Stock Analysis Report