Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $303.04

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $301.74.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ESS shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Essex Property Trust to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Essex Property Trust from $293.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $291.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $295.00 price target (down from $308.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ESS. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,350 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 79.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 637 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 92.6% during the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 4.9% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,648 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:ESS opened at $270.35 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Essex Property Trust has a twelve month low of $238.46 and a twelve month high of $303.35. The company has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a PE ratio of 42.04, a P/E/G ratio of 8.06 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50 day moving average is $278.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $275.43.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $2.62. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 21.48%. The company had revenue of $489.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.12 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.03 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.930-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 16.030-16.250 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 16.12 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $2.59 dividend. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 161.12%.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

Essex Property Trust, Inc is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust that owns, operates, develops, redevelops and acquires multifamily communities. The company’s portfolio consists primarily of apartment homes, with related services and amenities designed for residential renters.

Founded in 1971, Essex focuses on markets along the West Coast of the United States. Its properties are concentrated in Southern California, Northern California and the Seattle metropolitan area, where the company seeks to benefit from employment growth, population trends and demand for rental housing.

Essex Property Trust is headquartered in San Mateo, California, and its common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ESS.