Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $305.00 to $280.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $282.00 price target (down from $304.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $267.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $285.70.

Essex Property Trust Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE ESS opened at $254.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Essex Property Trust has a one year low of $243.25 and a one year high of $316.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $257.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $262.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.37 billion, a PE ratio of 19.32, a PEG ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.73.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.01. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 45.46% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The business had revenue of $473.30 million during 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 and its FY 2025 guidance at 15.890-15.990 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 23,136 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,193,000 after purchasing an additional 2,395 shares during the last quarter. Barings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the second quarter valued at about $829,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 12,050.0% in the second quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Stableford Capital II LLC bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at about $1,636,000. Finally, GAM Holding AG bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the third quarter valued at about $2,146,000. 96.51% of the stock is currently 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.