Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Evercore cut their price objective 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. UBS Group raised their price target on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $273.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $283.87.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 2.5%

NYSE:ESS opened at $257.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75, a PEG ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 0.74. Essex Property Trust has a 1 year low of $243.25 and a 1 year high of $316.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $255.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $260.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by ($0.02). Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 35.48% and a return on equity of 11.61%. The company had revenue of $479.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $474.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 98.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $1,664,000. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter valued at about $223,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 5.1% during the second quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 202,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $56,333,000 after purchasing an additional 9,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at $44,000. 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.