Wall Street Zen Upgrades Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) to Hold

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $274.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $281.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $293.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $288.44.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $283.40 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $266.09 and its 200 day moving average is $258.56. The firm has a market cap of $18.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.84, a PEG ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Essex Property Trust has a one year low of $238.46 and a one year high of $294.09.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($2.31). The firm had revenue of $484.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.89 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 30.03%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.97 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 16.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total value of $167,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $669,003.30. This trade represents a 20.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 57.5% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 120.0% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 176 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

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.