Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein

Research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) in a report issued on Friday. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price objective points to a potential upside of 9.84% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on ESS. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Essex Property Trust from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $272.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $292.08.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Essex Property Trust stock traded up $5.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $291.34. 22,640 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 512,193. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $259.71. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $238.46 and a fifty-two week high of $294.09. The stock has a market cap of $18.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.68, a P/E/G ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.72. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 30.03% and a return on equity of 10.00%. The company had revenue of $484.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.89 million. During the same quarter 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. On average, research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 16.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,664,000. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $223,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 70.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 186.2% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 33,614 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,526,000 after purchasing an additional 21,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 10.9% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,274 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,345,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.