Westpac Banking Corp Purchases Shares of 15,901 Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 15,901 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $4,637,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ESS. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 523.1% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS stock opened at $289.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $288.72 and a 200-day moving average of $269.65. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $238.46 and a one year high of $303.35. The company has a market cap of $18.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.99, a P/E/G ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 0.69.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $2.62. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 7.33%. The business had revenue of $489.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $485.12 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.03 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.930-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 16.030-16.250 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ESS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $291.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $285.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.79.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.