Citi Discusses Essex Property Trust After Earnings (ESS)

Citi Investment Research discusses Essex Property Trust Inc ESS after it reported earnings. It has a $120 price target and a Hold rating. In a note to clients, Citi writes, "In-line 3Q results were overshadowed by CEO Keith Guericke's announcement that he will retire as CEO after over 30 years with ESS. Essex vet and COO Michael Schall will take over the reins as CEO after over 20 years with ESS, including his tenure as CFO. While the announcement seems a bit abrupt, the transition should be fairly seamless given Schall's considerable experience and Guericke's continued role as Vice Chairman of the Board and consultant. The loss of an extremely well-respected CEO is never good news for a stock, but Schall has played an integral role in the strategy and operation of ESS for quite some time. As described below, however, we believe ESS will likely be weak tomorrow given core results and guidance that simply met expectations following a string of guidance raises from peers." Shares of ESS lost 19 cents yesterday to close at $113.36, a loss of 0.2%.