Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Price Target Raised to $281.00

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price target increased by Robert W. Baird from $279.00 to $281.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on ESS. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $278.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore lowered their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $271.00 and set a “cautious” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $292.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $283.31.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:ESS opened at $256.22 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $16.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 0.73. Essex Property Trust has a one year low of $243.25 and a one year high of $310.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $255.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $259.08.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $479.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $474.66 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 35.48%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.92 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 15.690-16.190 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 3.890-4.010 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $2.59 per share. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 98.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 57.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Tobam boosted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 167.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tobam now owns 131 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.