Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ESS. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $294.00 to $284.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $282.00 target price (down from $304.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $300.00 price target on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $288.97.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $253.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $257.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.62. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $243.25 and a 52-week high of $316.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.24, a PEG ratio of 6.12 and a beta of 0.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $473.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $472.11 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 45.46%.During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.91 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 3.930-4.030 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 15.890-15.990 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 78.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 57.5% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Tobam lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 167.3% in the second quarter. Tobam now owns 131 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by 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.