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

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $278.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $273.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $294.00 to $284.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $283.87.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $257.85 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $255.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $259.86. The company has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.77, a P/E/G ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $243.25 and a fifty-two week high of $316.29.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $479.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $474.66 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 35.48% and a return on equity of 11.61%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.92 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 15.690-16.190 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 3.890-4.010 EPS. Research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter worth approximately $239,442,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 973.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 743,954 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $199,127,000 after purchasing an additional 674,617 shares during the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 473.5% during the 3rd quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 516,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $138,315,000 after purchasing an additional 426,650 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 48.3% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,056,887 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $299,522,000 after buying an additional 344,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 21.9% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.