Analysts Set Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Target Price at $282.97

Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eighteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $283.2813.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $278.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $278.00 to $281.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of ESS opened at $271.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $253.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.29. Essex Property Trust has a 52 week low of $238.46 and a 52 week high of $294.09. The stock has a market cap of $17.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 0.71.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $484.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $2.59 dividend. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 116.40%.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESS. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 120.0% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 176 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 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.