Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $299.0789.

Several research analysts recently commented on ESS shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $281.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group set a $290.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $273.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

NYSE:ESS opened at $293.05 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $284.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $264.49. Essex Property Trust has a 12 month low of $238.46 and a 12 month high of $303.35. The firm has a market cap of $18.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $479.89 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.03% and a return on equity of 10.00%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.97 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 16.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $2.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the director directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,873,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $488,601,000 after buying an additional 22,835 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,679,607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $439,520,000 after buying an additional 301,349 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,157,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $309,848,000 after acquiring an additional 100,730 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 995,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $240,989,000 after acquiring an additional 57,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 958,090 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $250,714,000 after acquiring an additional 228,165 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

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.