Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Given “Market Perform” Rating at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial restated their market perform rating on shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) in a research report report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on ESS. Scotiabank cut 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 research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $282.00 price objective (down from $304.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Evercore decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $271.00 and set a “cautious” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $278.00 target price on Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $283.87.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of ESS stock traded down $7.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $255.30. The stock had a trading volume of 900,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 544,650. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.46 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.26 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $255.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $259.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $243.25 and a 52-week high of $316.29.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $479.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company 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. Equities analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $2.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a boost from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 98.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,493,313 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,973,805,000 after purchasing an additional 53,039 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,388,169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,540,570,000 after buying an additional 129,806 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,873,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $488,601,000 after buying an additional 22,835 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew 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 worth $439,520,000 after buying an additional 301,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,157,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $309,848,000 after acquiring an additional 100,730 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.