Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock Price Target Cut by Wells Fargo & Company

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price target decreased by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $297.00 to $279.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 3.81% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $286.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $295.00 target price (down from $308.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $298.99.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:ESS traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $268.76. 91,955 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 503,700. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.00 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $277.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $276.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Essex Property Trust has a twelve month low of $238.46 and a twelve month high of $303.35.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its 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 return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 21.48%. The firm had revenue of $489.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.12 million. During the same period last 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. On average, analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 16.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $80,281,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,889,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,451,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,166,555,000. Finally, Groupe la Francaise boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 598.6% in the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 16,207 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,726,000 after acquiring an additional 13,887 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust that owns, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily apartment communities. The company focuses on providing rental housing in high-demand markets and generates revenue primarily from apartment rents and related resident services.

Founded in 1971 and headquartered in San Mateo, California, Essex operates primarily in Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Seattle metropolitan area.