Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Earns Market Perform Rating from Raymond James Financial

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Raymond James Financial in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports.

ESS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $294.00 to $284.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $282.00 price objective (down from $304.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Monday, December 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $278.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $292.00 target price on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $283.87.

Essex Property Trust Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of ESS opened at $255.30 on Friday. Essex Property Trust has a 12 month low of $243.25 and a 12 month high of $316.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $255.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $259.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $16.46 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52, a P/E/G ratio of 8.02 and a beta of 0.74.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $479.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $474.66 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 35.48% and a return on equity of 11.61%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.92 EPS. 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. Equities analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Essex Property Trust by 3.8% during the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% during the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 814 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 913 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

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.