Brokerages Set Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Price Target at $286.97

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $286.9706.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $281.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, May 4th.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS stock opened at $285.78 on Wednesday. Essex Property Trust has a 12-month low of $238.46 and a 12-month high of $294.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.33 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $262.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $257.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 16.08 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $2.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total transaction of $167,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $669,003.30. This trade represents a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ESS. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth $1,664,000. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth $223,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 70.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 186.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 33,614 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,526,000 after acquiring an additional 21,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,274 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,345,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.