Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target Raised to $312.00 at Royal Bank Of Canada

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price target upped by Royal Bank Of Canada from $306.00 to $312.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group set a $290.00 price target on Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $303.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $292.75 target price on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Essex Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $304.69.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $284.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $18.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $286.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $266.20. Essex Property Trust has a 1 year low of $238.46 and a 1 year high of $303.35.

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 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 return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 21.48%.During the same period last year, the business posted $3.97 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 16.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $2.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 161.12%.

Insider Transactions at Essex Property Trust

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total value of $167,670.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,394 shares in the company, valued at $669,003.30. The trade was a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $230,690,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 674,617 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $439,520,000 after acquiring an additional 301,349 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Essex Property Trust by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 958,090 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $250,714,000 after acquiring an additional 228,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rush Island Management LP boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 26.8% in the first quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 807,893 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $195,510,000 after acquiring an additional 170,682 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Essex Property Trust

Here are the key news stories impacting Essex Property Trust this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Essex raised the midpoint of its full-year 2026 core funds from operations (FFO) outlook by $0.20 and forecast third-quarter core FFO of $3.99. The higher outlook reflects resilient rental demand and better-than-expected property performance. Essex raises full-year core FFO midpoint
• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter FFO exceeded analysts’ expectations as same-property net operating income and revenue increased. Northern California was the standout market, helping support the company’s raised 2026 view. ESS Q2 FFO beats estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Citizens JMP upgraded ESS from “market perform” to “outperform” and assigned a $330 price target, while RBC raised its target from $306 to $312 and maintained an “outperform” rating. The upgrades indicate improving analyst confidence after the earnings report. Essex upgraded at Citizens RBC raises Essex price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Management highlighted a regional divide: Northern California rent growth remains strong, but conditions are less uniform across Essex’s other markets. This creates some uncertainty around the pace and breadth of future growth. Essex Property Trust ups guidance amid regional divide

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.