Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) from a strong sell rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ESS. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $282.00 price objective (down from $304.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Monday, December 15th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $292.00 to $271.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $284.00 to $278.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.00.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $248.92 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.91, a P/E/G ratio of 7.84 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $251.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $255.53. Essex Property Trust has a 1 year low of $238.46 and a 1 year high of $294.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $479.63 million for 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 in the prior year, the business earned $3.92 earnings per share. 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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $2.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 99.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 57.5% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 120.0% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 176 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at about $48,000. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Essex Property Trust

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.