Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS Stake Boosted by Richardson Financial Services Inc.

Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 300.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 75 shares during the quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $28,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ESS. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth $31,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth $31,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth $34,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC increased its position in Essex Property Trust by 56.3% during the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 136 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 1.2%

ESS stock opened at $255.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.85 and a 52-week high of $316.29. The company has a 50-day moving average of $263.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $275.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 0.81.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.99 by $0.04. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 43.51% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The business had revenue of $465.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $466.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.94 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 3.890-3.990 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 15.800-16.020 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $2.57 dividend. This represents a $10.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler cut shares of Essex Property Trust from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $355.00 to $275.00 in a report on Monday, August 4th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $283.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.28.

About Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust, Inc, an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.