Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its holdings in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 26.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 21,894 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 7,783 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $5,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 300.0% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Tobam increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 167.3% in the second quarter. Tobam now owns 131 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of ESS opened at $257.69 on Friday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.25 and a twelve month high of $316.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.75, a PEG ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $255.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $260.52.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $479.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $474.66 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 35.48% and a return on equity of 11.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.92 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 15.690-16.190 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 3.890-4.010 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 98.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $273.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $282.00 price objective (down previously from $304.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $278.00 price objective on Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore cut their target price on Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $271.00 and set a “cautious” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $283.87.

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc (NYSE: ESS) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on market-rate apartment communities and delivers a full suite of property services including leasing, resident services, asset management, and capital improvement programs designed to preserve and enhance long‑term property values.

Essex concentrates its portfolio in West Coast markets, with a significant presence in California and the Pacific Northwest.