Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) Receives $286.97 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have issued a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $286.9706.

ESS has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Piper Sandler raised Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $272.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted 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, Morgan Stanley set a $293.00 price objective on Essex Property Trust in a research report on Friday, May 15th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 2,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $669,003.30. This trade represents a 20.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. DV Trading LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1,150.0% during the first quarter. DV Trading LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 3.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,759 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,416 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,795,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Summitry LLC raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupe la Francaise purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $561,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $285.78 on Wednesday. Essex Property Trust has a 52-week low of $238.46 and a 52-week high of $294.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average of $262.02 and a 200-day moving average of $257.60. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($2.31). The company had revenue of $484.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $479.89 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 30.03% and a return on equity of 10.00%. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.97 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.920-4.040 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 16.08 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $2.59 per share. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.40%.

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.