Metis Global Partners LLC Buys 1,869 Shares of Essex Property Trust, Inc. $ESS

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) by 10.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 18,991 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,869 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Essex Property Trust were worth $5,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter worth $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 300.0% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $260.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.82. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.25 and a 52 week high of $316.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $262.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $272.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.01. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 45.46%.The company had revenue of $473.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $472.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.91 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 3.930-4.030 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 15.890-15.990 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust, Inc. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $2.57 per share. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $271.00 and set a “cautious” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Essex Property Trust from $301.50 to $305.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $295.03.

Essex Property Trust Profile

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.