Essex Property Trust’s (ESS) “Market Perform” Rating Reiterated at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

ESS has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $282.00 target price (down from $304.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $294.00 to $284.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Evercore reduced their target price on Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $271.00 and set a “cautious” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $273.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered Essex Property Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $280.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $283.87.

Essex Property Trust Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of Essex Property Trust stock opened at $255.30 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $255.60 and its 200 day moving average is $259.13. Essex Property Trust has a one year low of $243.25 and a one year high of $316.29. The firm has a market cap of $16.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52, a PEG ratio of 8.02 and a beta of 0.73. 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 results on Wednesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $479.63 million during 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 period last year, the firm posted $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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.59 per share. This is an increase from Essex Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.57. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $10.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Essex Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESS. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its position in Essex Property Trust by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 814 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 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. Finally, Segment Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 913 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 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.