Essex Property Trust, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $2.57 (NYSE:ESS)

Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of 2.57 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, January 15th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd.

Essex Property Trust has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 31 years. Essex Property Trust has a dividend payout ratio of 170.5% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect Essex Property Trust to earn $16.58 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $10.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 62.0%.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.7%

ESS stock traded down $1.89 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $262.03. 28,474 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 477,142. Essex Property Trust has a 1 year low of $243.25 and a 1 year high of $316.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $258.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.34. The stock has a market cap of $16.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.38 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $473.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $472.11 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 45.46% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.91 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 3.930-4.030 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 15.890-15.990 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ESS shares. BNP Paribas cut Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Essex Property Trust from $294.00 to $284.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $282.00 price target (down from $304.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $267.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Essex Property Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.59.

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.