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

Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $292.0833.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ESS. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group set a $290.00 target price on Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price 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. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 0.9%

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $297.87 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $275.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $261.12. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $238.46 and a fifty-two week high of $299.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.70. 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 (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 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 net margin of 30.03% and a return on equity of 10.00%. During the same period 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 16.11 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $2.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 116.40%.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,003.30. This represents a 20.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 3.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 22,835 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 301,349 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $309,848,000 after acquiring an additional 100,730 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 57,173 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 958,090 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $250,714,000 after purchasing an additional 228,165 shares during the period. 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.