Weiss Asset Management LP Purchases New Position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 9,114 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,206,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 255,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $66,868,000 after purchasing an additional 6,422 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $230,690,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 160,122 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,901,000 after buying an additional 36,293 shares during the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 548,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $143,405,000 after buying an additional 31,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,679,607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $439,520,000 after buying an additional 301,349 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE:ESS opened at $293.32 on Monday. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $238.46 and a twelve month high of $303.35. The company has a market cap of $18.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $285.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $265.03. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($2.31). The company had revenue of $484.76 million for 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.11 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $669,003.30. This represents a 20.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essex Property Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $272.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $310.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $299.08.

Essex Property Trust 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.