Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to Hold Rating

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) to a hold rating in a report released on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on ESS. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Essex Property Trust from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $272.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $292.08.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 3.4%

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $295.38 on Friday. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $238.46 and a fifty-two week high of $295.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $272.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $259.96. The company has a market capitalization of $18.98 billion, a PE ratio of 33.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.33 and a beta of 0.72.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($2.31). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.03% and a return on equity of 10.00%. The firm had revenue of $484.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $479.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.97 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. Research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 16.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 116.40%.

Insider Activity at Essex Property Trust

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $669,003.30. This represents a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,873,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $488,601,000 after acquiring an additional 22,835 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 21.9% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 301,349 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,157,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $309,848,000 after purchasing an additional 100,730 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 995,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $240,989,000 after purchasing an additional 57,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 958,090 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $250,714,000 after purchasing an additional 228,165 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.