Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Changes for Essex Property Trust (ESS)

Several analysts have recently updated their ratings and price targets for Essex Property Trust (NYSE: ESS):

• 7/31/2026 – Essex Property Trust was upgraded by Citigroup Inc. from “buy” to “outperform”.
• 7/31/2026 – Essex Property Trust was given a new $330.00 price target by Cantor Fitzgerald.
• 7/31/2026 – Essex Property Trust was upgraded by Citizens Jmp from “market perform” to “outperform”. They now have a $330.00 price target on the stock.
• 7/30/2026 – Essex Property Trust had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by Evercore Inc. They now have a $303.00 price target on the stock.
• 7/30/2026 – Essex Property Trust was given a new $292.75 price target by Stifel Nicolaus.
• 7/22/2026 – Essex Property Trust had its price target raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $280.00 to $297.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 7/22/2026 – Essex Property Trust was upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group Inc. to “strong-buy”.
• 7/21/2026 – Essex Property Trust had its price target raised by Piper Sandler from $310.00 to $352.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 7/20/2026 – Essex Property Trust had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft. They now have a $330.00 price target on the stock.
• 7/14/2026 – Essex Property Trust had its price target raised by Barclays PLC from $277.00 to $296.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 7/14/2026 – Essex Property Trust was upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group Inc. from “hold” to “strong-buy”.
• 7/9/2026 – Essex Property Trust had its price target raised by Scotiabank from $290.00 to $307.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 7/9/2026 – Essex Property Trust had its price target raised by Scotiabank from $290.00 to $307.00. They now have a “sector outperform” rating on the stock.
• 7/4/2026 – Essex Property Trust was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from “sell” to “hold”.
• 6/26/2026 – Essex Property Trust was upgraded by Raymond James Financial, Inc. from “market perform” to “outperform”. They now have a $320.00 price target on the stock.
• 6/26/2026 – Essex Property Trust was upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group Inc. to “hold”.
• 6/26/2026 – Essex Property Trust is now covered by Sanford C. Bernstein. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock.
• 6/25/2026 – Essex Property Trust had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $293.00 to $302.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 6/21/2026 – Essex Property Trust was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from “hold” to “sell”.
• 6/18/2026 – Essex Property Trust was given a new $290.00 price target by UBS Group AG.
• 6/18/2026 – Essex Property Trust had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by Scotiabank.
• 6/18/2026 – Essex Property Trust had its price target raised by Scotiabank from $282.00 to $290.00. They now have a “sector outperform” rating on the stock.
• 6/13/2026 – Essex Property Trust was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from “sell” to “hold”.
• 6/12/2026 – Essex Property Trust was upgraded by Weiss Ratings from “hold (c+)” to “buy (b-)”.
• 6/10/2026 – Essex Property Trust had its price target raised by Mizuho from $285.00 to $308.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 6/8/2026 – Essex Property Trust had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by Evercore Inc. They now have a $296.00 price target on the stock.
• 6/1/2026 – Essex Property Trust was upgraded by Evercore Inc from “cautious” to “outperform”. They now have a $295.00 price target on the stock.
• 6/1/2026 – Essex Property Trust had its price target raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $262.00 to $280.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $2.59 per share. This represents a $10.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 161.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary Kasaris sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.45, for a total value of $167,670.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,003.30. The trade was a 20.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.47% of the company’s stock.

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.