Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

ESS has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets cut Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $305.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $278.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $273.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $283.87.

Essex Property Trust Stock Up 2.5%

ESS stock opened at $257.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $255.98 and a 200 day moving average of $260.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.60 billion, a PE ratio of 24.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Essex Property Trust has a 52 week low of $243.25 and a 52 week high of $316.29.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last posted its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $474.66 million. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 35.48%.During the same period in the prior 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $299,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 33,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,890,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 171.4% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 825 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $581,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in Essex Property Trust by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,013 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $788,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.