Scotiabank Has Lowered Expectations for Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) Stock Price

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) had its price objective dropped by equities research analysts at Scotiabank from $284.00 to $278.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector outperform” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Scotiabank’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.79% from the stock’s current price.

ESS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays reissued a “positive” rating and set a $292.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $283.00 to $273.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Essex Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $280.00 to $268.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $283.31.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $257.91 on Wednesday. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $243.25 and a fifty-two week high of $310.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $16.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.05 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $255.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $259.07.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS) last announced its 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). Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 11.61% and a net margin of 35.48%.The company had revenue of $479.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $474.66 million. During the same quarter 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ESS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Essex Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $230,690,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 973.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 743,954 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $199,127,000 after buying an additional 674,617 shares during the period. Centersquare Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 473.5% in the 3rd quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 516,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $138,315,000 after buying an additional 426,650 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 48.3% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,056,887 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $299,522,000 after buying an additional 344,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,679,607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $439,520,000 after buying an additional 301,349 shares during the period. 96.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.