Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on ESS. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $293.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group set a $290.00 price target on Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, June 18th. 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, June 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $273.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Essex Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $294.08.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $298.12 on Tuesday. Essex Property Trust has a 1 year low of $238.46 and a 1 year high of $303.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $281.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $263.15. The company has a market capitalization of $19.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 12.83 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($2.31). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 30.03%.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 posted $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 16.11 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $167,670.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,394 shares in the company, valued at $669,003.30. This trade represents a 20.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 442.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 27,902 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,468,000 after buying an additional 22,761 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 255,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $66,868,000 after acquiring an additional 6,422 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 160,122 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,901,000 after acquiring an additional 36,293 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 21.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 301,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $230,690,000. 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.