Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $303.35 and last traded at $298.19, with a volume of 757973 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $298.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ESS shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Piper Sandler raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $296.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.08.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.1%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $278.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $261.95. The firm has a market cap of $19.16 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.70. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $479.89 million. During the same period last 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 16.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $2.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of Essex Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was 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. The trade was 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 this hyperlink. 3.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $230,690,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 973.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 743,954 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $199,127,000 after acquiring an additional 674,617 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,679,607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $439,520,000 after acquiring an additional 301,349 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 958,090 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $250,714,000 after purchasing an additional 228,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rush Island Management LP raised its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 807,893 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $195,510,000 after purchasing an additional 170,682 shares during the period. 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.